Texas Republican Sen. Cornyn is trying to retain his seat for a fifth term as Democrats take on Crockett and Tallarico

DALLAS (AP) — Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn is trying to hold on to a fifth term in Tuesday’s GOP primary, while Democrats will choose whether to send Rep. Jasmine Crockett or state Rep. James Tallarico to the general election in November where the party once again hopes it has a chance.

Texas is one of three states starting midterm elections this year, a slate of primaries that come as the United States and Israel are at war with Iran. The war, which began over the weekend, has left at least six US service members dead, turned into a regional confrontation as Iran retaliated and sent oil and natural gas prices soaring. President Donald Trump, who campaigned on an isolationist “America First” agenda and went to war without permission from Congress, faces mounting questions about his justifications and exit strategy.

Tuesday is also the last day of voting in North Carolina and Arkansas in the primaries that mark the start of the 2026 midterm elections, as Democrats look to break the GOP’s grip on Washington and derail Trump.

Cornyn faces a challenge from MAGA favorite Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney general, and Rep. Wesley Hunt in a contest expected to advance to a runoff in May between the top two vote-getters. The three Republicans relied in their election campaign on their relationships with Trump, who did not support him in the race.

Both Crockett and Tallarico argue they are the strongest candidate for the general election in a state that backed Trump by nearly 14 percentage points in 2024 and where a Democrat has not won a statewide race in more than 30 years.

Voters are also choosing House nominees using new congressional district boundaries that Republican lawmakers — urged by Trump — have redrawn to help elect more Republicans.

Cornyn fights for his seat, and Crockett and Tallarico compete for Democrats

Cornyn hopes to avoid becoming the first Republican senator in Texas history not to be renominated.

His great relationship with Trump is part of the reason Cornyn is so vulnerable. He and allied groups have spent $64 million on television ads alone since July to try to shore up his support.

Paxton only began her campaign in earnest last month, but she has made national headlines for filing lawsuits against Democratic initiatives. He remained popular in Texas despite his 2023 impeachment trial on corruption charges, of which he was acquitted, and his wife’s accusations of infidelity.

Senate GOP leaders, who are backing Cornyn, worry that Paxton’s commitments will require the party to spend significant sums defending the seat if he is the nominee, money that could be better used elsewhere.

Read more: A lawsuit filed by Trump ally Paxton asserts an unproven claim of autism risk from acetaminophen

Paxton has run ads touting his support from Turning Point USA, the group founded by the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, as well as Kirk’s praise of Paxton before his assassination in September.

With Hunt entering the race in October, it has become difficult for any primary candidate to win at least 50%, the minimum required to avoid a runoff on May 26.

The three Republicans ran ads boasting of their sympathy for Trump.

On the Democratic side, the party’s first major contest in 2026 offers a choice between stylistic opposites, as it yearns for its first Senate victory in Texas since 1988.

Tallarico, a member of the seminary who often references the Bible, has held rallies across the state including in heavily Republican areas. Crockett, who built a national image for hard-line attacks on Republicans, focused on turning out black voters in the Dallas and Houston areas.

Talarico had outspent Crockett on television ads by more than four to one as of late February. He received a wave of attention last month after CBS decided not to air his interview with late-night host Stephen Colbert. Colbert said the network pulled the interview for fear of running afoul of Trump’s Federal Communications Commission. Talarico’s campaign announced it had raised $2.5 million in the 24 hours after the interview — which was broadcast online — was pulled from television.

Primary elections in the main house

Texas Republicans’ unusual mid-decade redistricting exercise was intended to help Trump’s party capture five Democratic-controlled seats in an attempt to avoid losing control of the House. It has created some intra-party conflict between the incumbent Democratic candidates and what is expected to be one of the most competitive races in November.

In the 34th District, former Rep. Mayra Flores is trying to make a comeback. Flores made history in the 2022 special election as the first Republican to win the Rio Grande Valley in 150 years, but lost her bid for a full term later that year. She faces Eric Flores, a lawyer supported by Trump, in the running against Democratic Representative Vicente Gonzalez.

In the 23rd District, Representative Tony Gonzalez is considered at risk after his Republican colleagues called on him to resign due to an affair with an employee who killed herself. He’s being challenged by gunsmith and YouTube influencer Brandon Herrera, who calls himself the “AK guy.” The district includes the city of Uvalde, the site of the 2022 fatal shooting at Rupp Elementary School.

Republican state Rep. Dan Crenshaw is being challenged in the 2nd District by Republican state Rep. Steve Toth, who has been endorsed by Sen. Ted Cruz.

Former Major League Baseball star Mark Teixeira is running in District 21, in southwest Texas, for the seat held by Republican Rep. Chip Roy, who is running for state attorney general. Teixeira, a Republican, played for four MLB teams, including the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees when they won the 2009 World Series.

Latin Grammy Award-winning Democrat Bobby Pulido is running in South Texas’ 15th District against Dr. Ada Cuellar. The candidate will face two-term Republican Rep. Monica de la Cruz.

In the 33rd District, Democratic Rep. Julie Johnson faces former Rep. Collin Allred, a former NFL player and 2024 Senate candidate. Johnson, a first-term congresswoman, is seen as vulnerable in part because Allred previously represented part of the district that straddles the Dallas and Fort Worth areas. He also maintains a national fundraising network for his Senate campaign.

Democratic Rep. Al Green is also struggling to stay in office after his 9th district in Houston was selected as weakly Republican. Green, 78, is now running in the newly appointed 18th District against Democratic Rep. Christian Menefee, 37, who won a special election in January for the incumbent 18th District. The new district includes two-thirds of the old Green.

Abbott and Hinojosa appear committed to a gubernatorial fight, while Roy seeks Paxton’s position.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is running for reelection and faces potential competition with Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa.

Four-term U.S. Rep. Chip Roy is seeking the Republican nomination for state attorney general, while Paxton is running for Senate. Roy was a prominent member of the conservative Freedom Caucus.