Texas general election: November 3, 2026
Who is running for Texas Senate, District 11 in 2026?
Here are the candidates for Texas Senate, District 11 on the November 3, 2026 ballot. This race is on the ballot for voters in Texas Senate District 11.
Positions come only from each candidate's own votes, official actions, statements and questionnaire answers, never from party labels. Every item links to its source.
Side by side
Each candidate's position on the issues this office handles, from their own record. Details and sources are in each profile below.
| Issue | Shannon DicelyDemocrat | Dennis PaulRepublican |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum wage | Raise it to around $15Questionnaire answer · medium | No public position |
| Healthcare | Keep the Affordable Care Act and fix what is brokenSaid · medium | No public position |
| Abortion | Legal in most cases up to viability (about 24 weeks)Said · low | Illegal, except to save the mother's life or in cases of rape or incestVoted · medium |
| Guns | No public position | Remove most restrictions; bearing arms is a rightVoted · medium |
| Immigration | No public position | Secure the border first; deport those with criminal records; keep legal immigration steadySaid · medium |
| AI data centers | No public position | Welcome them, but make them pay their full share of grid and water costsVoted · medium |
| School choice | No, keep public money in traditional public schoolsQuestionnaire answer · medium | Yes, universal school choice for every familyVoted · high |
| Curriculum and books | No public position | Parents, including the right to remove material they object toVoted · medium |
| Property taxes | No public position | Eliminate school property taxes and replace them with sales tax or state moneySaid · medium |
| Housing and growth | No public position | Allow townhomes and apartments in more places to bring prices downVoted · medium |
| Policing and crime | Shift some police funding to mental health and social servicesQuestionnaire answer · low | Tougher sentences, more police funding, and stricter bailVoted · medium |
| Election rules | Easier access: automatic registration and mail voting for anyoneSaid · medium | Strict photo ID, paper ballots, cleaner voter rolls and fewer mail ballotsVoted · medium |
| Gender care for minors | No public position | No, ban these treatments for minorsVoted · medium |
| Redistricting | Independent commissions draw maps, with a national ban on partisan gerrymanderingSaid · medium | State legislatures draw maps and may redraw any time, including for partisan advantageVoted · medium |
| Childcare and pre-K | Offer free pre-K to every 4-year-old, and expand childcare aidSaid · medium | No public position |
| School vaccines | No public position | Keep requirements with simple personal-belief exemptionsVoted · low |
| Transgender athletes | No public position | No, teams should be based on biological sex, with open or coed optionsVoted · medium |
| DEI programs | No public position | Ban DEI offices and required training at public institutionsVoted · medium |
| Religion in schools | No single answer fits; see evidence | Support laws requiring the Ten Commandments in classrooms and optional prayer periodsVoted · medium |
| China policy | No public position | Get tougher: broad tariffs, state bans on land purchases, and forced app salesVoted · medium |
Shannon Dicely
DemocratPrivate citizen
Shannon Dicely is a Democrat and first-time candidate who has lived in Senate District 11 for nearly 20 years2. A breast cancer survivor and former stay-at-home parent, she has volunteered in schools and neighborhood groups and returned to school to study political science at Sam Houston State University2.
Where they stand 10 issues · tap any issue for the evidence
Minimum wageRaise it to around $15medium
Childcare and pre-KOffer free pre-K to every 4-year-old, and expand childcare aidmedium
Said · medium confidence- Her campaign calls for expanding access to affordable child care and funding universal pre-K. (2026) source
HealthcareKeep the Affordable Care Act and fix what is brokenmedium
Said · medium confidence- Her campaign calls for expanding Medicaid to close the coverage gap and addressing premiums and drug prices through transparency and consumer protections. (2026) source
School choiceNo, keep public money in traditional public schoolsmedium
Questionnaire answer · medium confidence- Said she is absolutely opposed to school vouchers and efforts to privatize public education. (2026-01-05) source
Election rulesEasier access: automatic registration and mail voting for anyonemedium
Said · medium confidence- Her campaign calls for repealing SB 1 (2021), which it calls a voter suppression law, and expanding online voter registration and mail-in ballot access. (2026) source
RedistrictingIndependent commissions draw maps, with a national ban on partisan gerrymanderingmedium
Policing and crimeShift some police funding to mental health and social serviceslow
Questionnaire answer · low confidence- Said Texas spends too much on incarceration and not enough on prevention, and backed investing in community resources and job training with the goal of downsizing or closing prisons. (2026-01-05) source
AbortionLegal in most cases up to viability (about 24 weeks)low
Said · low confidence- Her health care platform says personal medical decisions should stay between patients and their doctors, not politicians. (2026) source
Student loansNo single answer fitsmedium
Questionnaire answer · medium confidence- Said every Texan deserves affordable higher education without a lifetime of debt, pointing to merit-based programs like Georgia's HOPE scholarship and the former Texas B-On-Time loan. (2026-01-05) source
Religion in schoolsNo single answer fitsmedium
Said · medium confidence- Her education platform says she will uphold the separation of church and state in classrooms. (2026) source
No public position found on: Safety net programs, Business regulation, Guns, Immigration, Energy and climate, Texas power grid, AI data centers, Curriculum and books, Property taxes, Housing and growth, Judges, Politicians trading stocks, Marijuana, Gender care for minors, Term limits, Campaign finance, Electoral College, Ranked-choice voting, Death penalty, Qualified immunity, Mandatory minimums, Drug prices, Paid leave, AI regulation, Kids online, School vaccines, Nuclear power, E-Verify mandate, Transgender athletes, DEI programs, China policy.
Dennis Paul
RepublicanTexas State Representative, District 129
Dennis Paul is a Republican who has represented Texas House District 129 in southeast Harris County since 20152. A civil engineer, his campaign says he is the only professional engineer in the Legislature and led the creation of the Gulf Coast Protection District for the Galveston Bay storm surge barrier2. He is running for the open Senate seat left by Mayes Middleton, who ran for attorney general4.
Where they stand 18 issues · tap any issue for the evidence
School choiceYes, universal school choice for every familyhigh
Voted · high confidence- His campaign says every parent has a right to make educational choices and that he will protect new opportunities for educational freedom while supporting full public school funding. (2025-12) source
- Voted yes on SB 2, which created a state education savings account program that families can use to pay for private school; it passed the House 86 to 61. (2025-04-17) source
Property taxesEliminate school property taxes and replace them with sales tax or state moneymedium
Said · medium confidence- His campaign says he is committed to expanding compression, raising the homestead exemption and ultimately eliminating school property taxes while keeping schools funded. (2025-12) source
ImmigrationSecure the border first; deport those with criminal records; keep legal immigration steadymedium
Said · medium confidence- His campaign says he has consistently supported Operation Lone Star and the state's aggressive border security measures, and will keep championing strong enforcement. (2025-12) source
- Voted yes on SB 4 (2023), which made illegal entry into Texas a state crime; it passed the House 83 to 61. (2023-11-14) source
- Voted yes on SB 8 (2025), which requires certain sheriffs to seek agreements with ICE; it passed the House 86 to 47. (2025-05-25) source
Policing and crimeTougher sentences, more police funding, and stricter bailmedium
Voted · medium confidence- His campaign says he will keep fighting to keep violent criminals off the streets. (2025-12) source
- Voted yes on HB 1900, which penalizes large cities that cut police budgets; it passed the House 90 to 49. (2021-05-07) source
- Voted yes on SB 9, which tightened bail procedures and regulated charitable bail groups; it passed the House 118 to 25. (2025-05-20) source
AbortionIllegal, except to save the mother's life or in cases of rape or incestmedium
Voted · medium confidence- Voted yes on SB 8, the Texas Heartbeat Act; it passed the House 83 to 64. (2021-05-06) source
- Voted yes on HB 1280, the law banning abortion if Roe v. Wade was overturned, which allows an exception for a medical emergency; it passed the House 81 to 61. (2021-05-06) source
- Voted yes on HB 7, which restricts the manufacture and provision of abortion-inducing drugs; it passed the House 82 to 48. (2025-08-28) source
GunsRemove most restrictions; bearing arms is a rightmedium
Voted · medium confidence- Voted yes on the final version of HB 1927, which allows adults to carry a handgun without a license; the House adopted it 82 to 62. (2021-05-23) source
Election rulesStrict photo ID, paper ballots, cleaner voter rolls and fewer mail ballotsmedium
Voted · medium confidence- Voted yes on the final version of SB 1 (2021), the election law overhaul that added mail ballot ID rules and limited some voting options; the House adopted it 80 to 41. (2021-08-31) source
RedistrictingState legislatures draw maps and may redraw any time, including for partisan advantagemedium
Voted · medium confidence- Voted yes on HB 4, which redrew Texas U.S. House districts in 2025, four years after the 2021 maps; it passed the House 88 to 52. (2025-08-20) source
Transgender athletesNo, teams should be based on biological sex, with open or coed optionsmedium
Voted · medium confidenceGender care for minorsNo, ban these treatments for minorsmedium
Voted · medium confidence- Voted yes on SB 14, which bans gender transition procedures and treatments for minors; it passed the House 87 to 56. (2023-05-15) source
DEI programsBan DEI offices and required training at public institutionsmedium
Voted · medium confidenceCurriculum and booksParents, including the right to remove material they object tomedium
Voted · medium confidence- Voted yes on HB 900, which regulates library materials sold to or kept in public school libraries; it passed the House 95 to 52. (2023-04-20) source
- Voted yes on the final version of SB 13, which sets up school library advisory councils and expands parental rights over library materials; the House adopted it 81 to 48. (2025-05-31) source
Religion in schoolsSupport laws requiring the Ten Commandments in classrooms and optional prayer periodsmedium
Voted · medium confidence- Voted yes on SB 10, which requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms; it passed the House 82 to 46. (2025-05-25) source
China policyGet tougher: broad tariffs, state bans on land purchases, and forced app salesmedium
Voted · medium confidence- Voted yes on SB 17 (2025), which restricts Texas land purchases by people and entities from certain countries including China; it passed the House 86 to 59. (2025-05-09) source
AI data centersWelcome them, but make them pay their full share of grid and water costsmedium
Voted · medium confidence- Voted yes on SB 6, which set rules for how very large electricity users such as data centers connect to the grid and share related costs; it passed the House 103 to 25. (2025-05-27) source
Housing and growthAllow townhomes and apartments in more places to bring prices downmedium
Voted · medium confidence- Voted yes on SB 15, which bars certain large cities from requiring large minimum lot sizes for new homes; it passed the House 86 to 43. (2025-05-28) source
School vaccinesKeep requirements with simple personal-belief exemptionslow
Voted · low confidence- Voted yes on HB 1586, which requires the state to post the school vaccine exemption affidavit form online; it passed the House 83 to 54. (2025-05-14) source
MarijuanaNo single answer fitsmedium
Voted · medium confidence- Voted yes on HB 441, which lowered the penalties for possessing small amounts of marijuana; it passed the House 88 to 40. (2021-04-30) source
- Voted no on HB 218, a similar bill lowering penalties for possessing small amounts of marijuana; it passed the House 87 to 59. (2023-04-27) source
- Voted no on HB 46, which expanded the state's medical low-THC cannabis program; it passed the House 122 to 21. (2025-05-13) source
- Voted yes on SB 3, which would have banned most consumable hemp products containing THC; it passed the House 87 to 54 and was later vetoed. (2025-05-22) source
No public position found on: Safety net programs, Minimum wage, Business regulation, Healthcare, Energy and climate, Texas power grid, Judges, Politicians trading stocks, Term limits, Campaign finance, Electoral College, Ranked-choice voting, Death penalty, Qualified immunity, Mandatory minimums, Drug prices, Childcare and pre-K, Paid leave, Student loans, AI regulation, Kids online, Nuclear power, E-Verify mandate.
Last reviewed 2026-10-06. Spotted something wrong? Every claim links to its source so you can check it yourself.