Find more election coverage on the Vote 2026 page.
SEARCH YOUR LOCAL RACES
The race at the top of all Texans’ ballot was U.S. Senate. Both Republican and Democratic primaries were hotly contested.
On the GOP side, incumbent John Cornyn and Ken Paxton are heading to a runoff on Tuesday, May 26.
Current U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt finished in third place.
“I refuse to allow a flawed, self-centered and shameless candidate like Ken Paxton risk everything we’ve worked so hard to build over these many years,” Cornyn said Tuesday night.
Watch Cornyn’s Election Night speech to supporters in the video player below.
At his watch party, Paxton told supporters that they “were not going to go quietly.”
Watch Paxton’s Election Night speech to supporters in the below video player.
In the Democratic primary, former San Antonio teacher/state Rep. James Talarico defeated U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett with 57% of votes.
The Associated Press called the race shortly before 2 a.m. Wednesday, following chaos in Dallas County, the heart of Crockett’s congressional district.
On Tuesday afternoon, hours before the polls were scheduled to close, a state district court judge in Dallas County issued an order extending the voting hours until 9 p.m.
Late Tuesday evening, the Texas Supreme Court paused the ruling and ordered that votes cast by Democrats between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. be set aside.
A legal challenge, possibly from the state’s Democratic Party, is expected to be taken up in court in the coming days.
Democratic voters there said they were turned away from polling sites after being told they could only cast their ballots at their assigned precinct.
Crockett briefly addressed supporters at her watch party in Dallas and said they would not have results Tuesday night.
A majority of supporters gathered at Emo’s in Austin left around 11 p.m. Tuesday without the person they were there to see Talarico taking the stage.
U.S. Senators are elected for six-year terms.
BACKGROUND
The Texas race for U.S. Senate in this year’s primary election is set to be highly contested with some familiar faces.
On the Republican side, four-term incumbent Sen. John Cornyn is defending his seat against three-term Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and two-term U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt.
On the Democratic side, U.S. Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett of Dallas is competing against State Rep. James Talarico of Austin.
Cornyn, who was first elected to the Senate in 2002, is running for reelection in the GOP-dominated state. He is facing what many are calling the toughest GOP primary of his career.
Paxton officially entered the race for U.S. Senate in April. When he announced his run for U.S. Senate, Paxton told Fox News host Laura Ingraham that it was “time for a change in Texas.”
Hunt, however, is offering himself as a younger alternative, more in line with the concerns of families and their children. His campaign promises include securing the border and making life more affordable for Texas families.
Crockett, one of Congress’ most outspoken Democrats and a frequent target of GOP attacks, jumped into the race on the final day of qualifying in Texas.
She could test Democratic voters’ appetite for a blunt communicator who is eager to take on Republicans as Democrats pursue their first statewide victory in Texas since 1994.
Talarico launched his campaign in September. He previously told KSAT that his experience as a public-school teacher on San Antonio’s West Side shaped his views for his campaign.
According to his campaign website, Talarico is pushing for economic equality, specifically the gap between billionaires and Americans struggling to make ends meet.
If there are three or more candidates in a race and none of them win more than 50% of the vote, the top two finishers will advance to the May 26 primary runoff.
Get more election results on our homepage and Vote 2026 page. Be the first to know by downloading our newsreader app or signing up for breaking news email alerts.