People line up to vote on Election Day at a polling location at West Gray Metropolitan Multi-Service Center in Houston, Texas, on March 3, 2026.
RONALDO SCHEMIDT
AFP via Getty Images
Texas’ marquee races for U.S. Senate put its primaries in the spotlight nationwide Tuesday night. But there were interesting races across the ballot, and voters responded with impressive turnout — especially among Democrats.
Get ready for a glut of commentary about who it’s best for. But we’ve got the first take on winners and losers from an expensive, intriguing Election Night.
WINNERSJohn Cornyn
There was talk that the four-term U.S. senator would be humiliated against Ken Paxton in the Republican primary, even if both made the runoff. But Cornyn finished stronger than just about anyone projected and might even end the night with a lead. That might be enough to put pressure on President Donald Trump to back Cornyn so Senate Republicans can concentrate on defending other ground.
Early voting
More than 2.5 million Texans voted early, and that should put to rest any talk of eliminating this popular convenience. Plus, those in places such as Dallas and Williamson counties who voted early must be glad they did. Election Day was a disaster there because of a switch back to precinct voting instead of countywide voting that people have used for years.
National political reporters
Here’s a not-well-kept secret about the media that covers campaigns: They love to come to Texas for tacos, barbecue and the never-quite-accurate stories that this could be the year Texas turns blue. With James Talarico likely to be the Democratic nominee — and to raise a ton of money — more editors will be willing to approve those trips and, more importantly, the subsequent expense reports.
Ah, one of the great Texas political traditions — national reporters escaping the cold to eat expense-account Tex-Mex by convincing their editors, “this really might be the year!” https://t.co/Tyk6iR7D8b
— Ryan J. Rusak (@rjrusak) February 27, 2026 LOSERSTexas TV viewers
The groundhog saw its shadow in several races headed to runoffs, which means up to 12 more weeks of ads accusing The Other Guy of being an agent of darkness. As the May 26 runoff nears, you’ll want to steer clear of your mailbox and maybe even your text messages, too.
Chip Roy
One of Texas’ most well-known congressman seemed like the clear frontrunner in the Republican race for attorney general. But he was outpaced by an unknown state senator with two potent weapons, a ton of his own money to spend on TV ads and a catchy self-applied nickname: “MAGA” Mayes Middelton. With so many candidates in so many races, it was enough to help Middleton cut through the clutter to take the lead and head into a runoff.
Dallas County voters
Neither the county nor the local Democratic Party did enough to warn voters of the switch in voting, so many went to the wrong place and ran out of time to vote. As if that wasn’t enough, a court order threw the whole county’s vote counting into chaos.
Some Tarrant County Republicans want to replicate this mess here by eliminating countywide voting. The message should be clear: Don’t Dallas my Tarrant.
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Ryan J. Rusak is opinion editor of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He grew up in Benbrook and is a TCU graduate. He spent more than 15 years as a political journalist, overseeing coverage of four presidential elections and several sessions of the Texas Legislature. He writes about Fort Worth/Tarrant County politics and government, along with Texas and national politics, education, social and cultural issues, and occasionally sports, music and pop culture. Rusak, who lives in east Fort Worth, was recently named Star Opinion Writer of the Year for 2024 by Texas Managing Editors, a news industry group.