{"id":179074,"date":"2026-03-05T10:25:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T10:25:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/179074\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T10:25:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T10:25:25","slug":"takeaways-from-the-first-elections-of-the-2026-midterm-campaigns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/179074\/","title":{"rendered":"Takeaways from the first elections of the 2026 midterm campaigns"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The midterms<\/a> are here.<\/p>\n

The 2026 campaign kicked off Tuesday with high-profile primary elections in Texas, where Republican Sen. John Cornyn<\/a> is heading toward a runoff vote against state attorney general Ken Paxton<\/a>. Democrats chose state Rep. James Talarico over U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett to be their candidate.<\/p>\n

For all the focus on Texas<\/a>, elections in North Carolina<\/a> could have a bigger impact on which party ultimately wins the Senate majority in the fall.<\/p>\n

In the first election<\/a> since President Donald Trump<\/a> joined Israel in launching dramatic attacks on Iran<\/a>, there were also contests in Arkansas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here are some takeaways from Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

Democrats choose their fighter in Texas<\/p>\n

By rallying behind Talarico, the party sided with someone who pledged to change Washington while finding consensus.<\/p>\n

The 36-year-old state representative\u2019s win over Crockett cements his status as a rising star and will likely make him one of Democrats\u2019 most prominent candidates this year. He campaigned with denunciations of \u201cpolitics as a blood sport\u201d and an insistence that people want \u201ca return to more timeless values of sincerity and honesty and compassion and respect.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was in contrast to Crockett, who gained national fame with her fiery style and unabashed antagonism of Trump and other Republicans.<\/p>\n

Indeed, the biggest differences between Talarico and Crockett largely hinged on style rather than policy.<\/p>\n

Crockett argued that Democrats need to focus on energizing their base, betting that motivated voters in metropolises like Houston and Dallas could swamp Republicans. Talarico\u2019s campaign, meanwhile, took a more expansive approach, often highlighting his faith in ways that could appeal beyond diehard Democrats.<\/p>\n

That style is why many Republicans are worried about Talarico\u2019s candidacy. Though a Democrat hasn\u2019t won a statewide race in Texas since 1994, Talarico\u2019s campaign could prove potent depending on who emerges from the Republican runoff.<\/p>\n

The election isn\u2019t over for Republicans in Texas<\/p>\n

Cornyn and Paxton will keep fighting for the Republican nomination through a May 26 runoff.<\/p>\n

For Cornyn, the results keep alive his hopes of remaining in the Senate. But it\u2019s still a sign of vulnerability that he couldn\u2019t win the race outright.<\/p>\n

Although Cornyn has expressed occasional skepticism of Trump, he has been a reliable ally to the president. Paxton, however, claimed he was more aligned with Trump\u2019s Make America Great Again movement, pulling away support that may have otherwise gone to Cornyn.<\/p>\n

Trump didn\u2019t endorse<\/a> either candidate during the primary, but the results may raise pressure on him to take a side. Republicans in Washington have expressed concern that Paxton, who has well-documented political baggage, may be a weaker candidate in the general election.<\/p>\n

Regardless of what happens, expect more cash to be pumped into the race. Cornyn and well-funded allied groups spent at least $64 million in television advertising alone since July.<\/p>\n

While the race goes on, one person will be missing: Wesley Hunt<\/a>. The congressman was a late entry into what had been a head-on contest between Cornyn and Paxton. His presence in the race further divided Republicans, making the runoff harder to avoid.<\/p>\n

The first elections of the year weren\u2019t entirely smooth sailing<\/p>\n

In two major Texas counties \u2014 Dallas and Williamson \u2014 there was significant confusion<\/a> over where voters could cast their ballot. For years, they could vote anywhere in the county. But for this primary, the local Republican parties opted against countywide voting.<\/p>\n

With state law mandating that both parties have to agree to use the countywide system, voters could only vote at their assigned precinct \u2014 forcing many to figure out where exactly that was.<\/p>\n

Things quickly turned messy, with lawsuits, changes to voting hours and Democrats calling foul. Crockett called the rule change an \u201ceffort to suppress the vote.\u201d Talarico\u2019s campaign said it was \u201cdeeply concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n

Political parties run their own primaries in Texas, meaning a repeat of Tuesday\u2019s confusion is unlikely to repeat in November.<\/p>\n

But this isn\u2019t happening in a vacuum. Texas is central to Trump\u2019s redistricting<\/a> effort to protect Republicans\u2019 narrow majority in the House.<\/p>\n

The party has also pushed legislation<\/a> that would impose strict new proof-of-citizenship requirements. The bill is a long shot in the Senate but serves as another reminder of Republican efforts to change election rules heading into November.<\/p>\n

In addition, any raw feelings could complicate Democrats\u2019 chances later this year. Crockett\u2019s campaign has said she\u2019ll sue over voting problems, and her accusations of voter suppression are important in a state where Black voters are central to any Democratic candidate\u2019s success.<\/p>\n

If Talarico has a shot, he will likely need Crockett\u2019s help in encouraging her disappointed supporters to back him.<\/p>\n

A critical Senate race takes shape in North Carolina<\/p>\n

One of this year\u2019s marquee Senate contests was practically a done deal heading into Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Democrat Roy Cooper<\/a> will face Republican Michael Whatley<\/a> in a race that\u2019s critical to deciding control of the Senate in November.<\/p>\n

Both parties have reason to feel confident about their chances in the general election.<\/p>\n

For Democrats, Cooper is an ideal candidate in one of the most politically competitive states. A former two-term governor, he has proved that he can win statewide elections.<\/p>\n

Republicans, meanwhile, are going into the campaign with a candidate who is backed by Trump, an endorsement that could help energize voters during an otherwise challenging year. And as the former chair of the Republican National Committee, Whatley is familiar with party resources and how they can be deployed during a tough campaign.<\/p>\n

Still, each candidate must overcome notable challenges. While Democrats like Cooper have been successful in races for governor, they\u2019ve struggled in Senate contests. Whatley will also need to make inroads with moderate or independent voters that may not view Trump\u2019s endorsement as a reason to turn out in November. Trump is the reason this is an open Senate contest in the first place. His disagreements with the incumbent Republican, Thom Tillis<\/a>, prompted the two-term senator to decide against reelection.<\/p>\n

Get ready for what could be a messy race to November \u2014 one where spending could hit $1 billion.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The midterms are here. The 2026 campaign kicked off Tuesday with high-profile primary elections in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":179075,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[84678,84680,8131,409,84681,44361,84679,4219,232,234,233,5537],"class_list":["post-179074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tallahassee","tag-2026-campaigns","tag-battleground-states","tag-democrats","tag-donald-trump","tag-first-elections-of-2026","tag-midterm-elections","tag-north-carolina-arkansas","tag-republicans","tag-tallahassee","tag-tallahassee-headlines","tag-tallahassee-news","tag-texas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}