All eyes on Texas as first elections of the 2026 midterm campaigns begin
Talarico wins Texas Senate Democratic nomination while Cornyn and Paxton head to Republican run-off
US Senator John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will square off in a high-stakes run-off for the state’s Republican nomination for Senate, pitting a long-time member of the party’s establishment against an insurgent hardliner as the midterm elections kicked off on Tuesday.
Neither man was able to exceed the 50 per cent threshold necessary to win outright in Tuesday’s voting, ensuring that the most expensive Senate primary in history will extend another 12 weeks into May.
The scandal-scarred Paxton, a firebrand ally of President Donald Trump, has some Republican leaders worried his nomination could endanger a typically safe seat.
The victor will face off against Democratic nominee James Talarico, a state lawmaker, who narrowly beat out US congresswoman Jasmine Crockett in another bruising contest that similarly underscored the divides in the Democratic Party.
Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian who has made headlines for his regular use of scripture on the campaign trail, has explicitly appealed to independents and moderates in a state that has long been dominated by Republicans.
Crockett, whose fiery denunciations of Trump have built her a national profile, had argued her candidacy would excite less frequent Democratic voters.