Early voting for the 2026 primary election started Feb. 17 and ended Feb. 27 across the state, and unofficial results show 16.34% of Denton County residents voted early or by mail ahead of the March 3 primary elections, according to data from the secretary of state website.

The details: The county’s turnout for early voters was more than 58,000 voters for registered Republicans and more than 46,000 for registered Democrats out of 644,341 total registered voters, according to the secretary of state’s website. There were also 890 mail-in ballots from registered Republicans and 275 for registered Democrats, the website states.

Overall, 9.13% of registered voters cast their ballot in the Republican primary and 7.21% of voters cast their ballot in the Democratic primary during the early voting period, per the website.

On the ballot: Residents will consider several contested local races for the Republican primary and Democratic primary, among state races.

Gen Korean BBQ will open its first Denton location at the beginning of March, a company representative said.

The gist: The restaurant allows guests to cook their own meats, such as beef, pork or chicken, in a built-in tabletop grill, the company’s website states.

The menu also includes seafood options, appetizers like deep fried mandu, soups and salads, according to its website.

The new location is in the Rayzor Ranch shopping center.

• 3410 N. I-35, Ste. 130, Denton

The growth in the Alliance area of Fort Worth has yielded a return on investment in the billions.

The gist: Mike Berry, president at Hillwood, a commercial and real estate development company, provided the yearly AllianceTexas update to the Fort Worth City Council during a work session meeting Feb. 24.

He said the economic impact in 2025 was $12.9 billion, and the estimated regional economic impact since opening 36 years ago is $142.9 billion.

“So from the standpoint of the city and the region, we hope it simply continues to grow,” Berry said.

Total investment in AllianceTexas reached $18.3 billion in 2025, including $16.7 billion from the private sector and $1.6 billion in public investment such as roads, schools, public safety facilities and other infrastructure, according to a news release.

The specific: AllianceTexas, a 27,000-acre master-planned mixed-use development, has 602 companies and supports more than 73,000 jobs, the news release states.

According to the previous reporting, Alliance accounted for 590 companies and 66,000 jobs in October.

Stay up to date with five road projects happening in Collin County, Denton County and Tarrant County. 

Collin County

Legacy Drive updates 

Project: Legacy Drive will be updated from Main Street to Panther Creek Parkway.

Updates: The project is in the planning phase, and details regarding the project are not yet available.

• Timeline: mid-2027-mid-2029
• Cost: $23 million
• Funding sources: city of Frisco, external funding

• Timeline: Work to be completed by the end of May.
• Cost: $1.6 million
• Funding source: city of Keller

Primary election day in Texas is March 3. With dozens of state, regional and local races on the ballot, voters in the Republican and Democratic primaries will determine their parties’ nominees for the November midterm election.

At the polls: Polling places across Texas will be open from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. March 3, according to the secretary of state.

On election day, voters in the following counties in Community Impact’s coverage areas can vote at any polling location within their county of residence: Bastrop, Bexar, Brazoria, Brazos, Collin, Comal, Fort Bend, Galveston, Guadalupe, Harris, Hays, Tarrant and Travis. Registered voters in other counties are required to visit a polling place specific to their voting precinct.

Voters are required to bring photo identification to the polls.

On the ballot: Voters will choose their political parties’ nominees for the U.S. Senate, seven state offices, 10 state judicial seats, 38 congressional seats, nearly all state legislative seats and over half of the State Board of Education. Candidates who win their primaries will advance to the November ballot.