{"id":189336,"date":"2026-03-04T02:22:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T02:22:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/189336\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T02:22:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T02:22:08","slug":"texas-sen-cornyn-tries-to-hold-seat-democrats-crockett-talarico-face-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/189336\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Sen. Cornyn tries to hold seat, Democrats Crockett, Talarico face off"},"content":{"rendered":"

DALLAS (AP) \u2014 Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn<\/a> is trying to hold on for a fifth term in Tuesday\u2019s GOP primary,<\/a> while Democrats will choose whether to send Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett<\/a> or state Rep. James Talarico<\/a> to a November general election where the party once again hopes it has a chance.<\/p>\n

Texas is one of three states kicking off this year\u2019s midterm elections with primaries that come as the U.S. and Israel are at war with Iran. At least six U.S. service members<\/a> have been killed in a growing regional confrontation<\/a> that sent oil and natural gas prices<\/a> soaring. President Donald Trump, who campaigned on an \u201cAmerica First\u201d agenda<\/a> and hasn\u2019t sought congressional authorization<\/a>, faces mounting questions<\/a> over its rationale and an exit strategy.<\/p>\n

Races in North Carolina and Arkansas also mark the first primaries of the 2026 midterms<\/a> as Democrats look to break the GOP\u2019s hold on Washington and derail Trump.<\/p>\n

Cornyn faces a challenge from MAGA favorite Ken Paxton<\/a>, the Texas attorney general, and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt<\/a> in a contest expected to advance to a May runoff. The three Republicans campaigned on their ties to Trump, who has not endorsed in the race. <\/p>\n

Crockett and Talarico each argue<\/a> that they are the stronger general election candidate in a state that backed Trump by almost 14 percentage points in 2024 and where a Democrat hasn\u2019t won a statewide race in over 30 years. <\/p>\n

Some voters in Dallas and Williamson counties reported being turned away<\/a> at polling locations and directed to different voting precincts. Voters previously had been allowed to cast ballots anywhere in their county since 2019. But for this primary, the Republican parties in Dallas and Williamson counties opted against countywide voting. State law says both major parties have to agree to the countywide system for it to be in effect.<\/p>\n

Democrats in Dallas County sought to keep some polling locations open longer, and a judge extended voting for two extra hours. <\/p>\n

Voters also are choosing House candidates using new congressional district boundaries that GOP lawmakers \u2014 urged on by Trump \u2014 redrew to help elect more Republicans.<\/p>\n

Cornyn fights to hold seat<\/p>\n

Cornyn hopes to avoid becoming the first Republican senator in Texas history not to be renominated.<\/p>\n

His cool relationship with Trump is part of what makes Cornyn vulnerable. He and allied groups have spent at least $64 million in television advertising alone since July to try stabilize his support. <\/p>\n

Paxton began campaigning in earnest only last month. He\u2019s made national headlines for filing lawsuits against Democratic initiatives. He remained popular in Texas despite a 2023 impeachment trial on corruption charges, of which he was acquitted, and accusations of marital infidelity by his wife. <\/p>\n

On Tuesday evening a man wearing a camouflage hat, sunglasses and a mask covering his mouth and nose entered the Uptown Marriott hotel in Dallas, where Paxton was expected to address supporters later. He was asked to leave, and it was not clear whether his presence was connected to Paxon\u2019s event. The man was later detained by police, who removed ammunition magazines and shotgun shells from his vehicle. Paxton\u2019s campaign declined to comment. <\/p>\n

All three Republicans have run ads boasting of their coziness with Trump. But Senate GOP leaders, who are backing Cornyn, worry that Paxton\u2019s liabilities would make it harder to defend the seat if he is the nominee \u2014 and require significant spending that could be better used elsewhere. <\/p>\n

\u201cRepublican voters are going to need to decide, do we want to win?\u201d Cornyn told Fox News Channel. <\/p>\n

Hunt\u2019s entry into the race in October made it trickier for any primary candidate to win at least 50%, the threshold needed to avoid a May 26 runoff. <\/p>\n

Stylistic opposites vie for Democrats\u2019 Senate nomination<\/p>\n

Crockett and Talarico have waged a spirited race<\/a> as Democrats look for their first Senate win in Texas since 1988. <\/p>\n

Talarico, a seminarian who often references the Bible, has held rallies across the state including in heavily Republican areas. Crockett has built a national profile for zinger attacks on Republicans and has focused on turning out Black voters in the Dallas and Houston areas. <\/p>\n

Tanu Sani, who cast a Democratic ballot in Dallas, said she\u2019d been undecided until recently but opted for Talarico because he \u201creally spoke to me in the way he tries to unify.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andrew Kern, another Democratic voter in Texas, explained his support of Talarico similarly, describing \u201can approach that\u2019s bridging some of the divisiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tomas Sanchez, a voter in Dallas County, said he supports Crockett because \u201cshe cares about immigrants, she cares about the American people in a way that a lot of the Republicans have proven they haven\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Talarico had outspent Crockett on television advertising by more than four to one as of late February. He got a burst of attention \u2014 and campaign contributions \u2014 last month from CBS\u2019 decision not to air his interview with late-night host Stephen Colbert<\/a>, who said the network pulled the interview for fear of angering Trump\u2019s FCC. <\/p>\n

Key House primaries <\/p>\n

Texas Republicans\u2019 mid-decade redistricting was aimed at helping the GOP pick up Democratic-held seats and maintain its threadbare House majority in Washington. The result matched several Democratic incumbents in primary fights and set up new general election battlegrounds. <\/p>\n

In the 34th District, former Rep. Mayra Flores<\/a> is attempting a comeback<\/a>. Flores made history in a 2022 special election as the first Republican to win in the Rio Grande Valley in 150 years, but lost her bid for a full term later that year. She faces Eric Flores, a lawyer endorsed by Trump, for the nomination to run against Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez. <\/p>\n

In the 23rd District, Rep. Tony Gonzales<\/a> is considered vulnerable after an alleged affair with a staffer who killed herself. He\u2019s being challenged by gun manufacturer and YouTube influencer Brandon Herrera, who calls himself \u201cthe AK guy.\u201d The district includes Uvalde, site of a deadly 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School. <\/p>\n

Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw is challenged in the 2nd District by state Rep. Steve Toth, who was endorsed by Sen. Ted Cruz.<\/p>\n

Former Major League Baseball star Mark Teixeira<\/a> is running as a Republican to succeed Republican Chip Roy in southwest Texas\u2019 District 21. Roy is running for attorney general. <\/p>\n

Democrat Bobby Pulido<\/a>, a Latin Grammy winner, is running in South Texas\u2019 15th District against physician Ada Cuellar. The nominee will face two-term Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz. <\/p>\n

In the 33rd District, Democratic Rep. Julie Johnson faces former Rep. Colin Allred, a former NFL linebacker and 2024 Senate nominee.<\/p>\n

Democratic Rep. Al Green also is fighting to stay in office after his Houston-based 9th District was drawn to be lean Republican. Green, 78, is now running in a newly drawn 18th District against Democratic Rep. Christian Menefee, 37, who won a January special election for the current 18th District. <\/p>\n

Easy win for Abbott, likely to face Hinojosa <\/p>\n

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott easily won his primary and is expected to face Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa. <\/p>\n

Roy is seeking the GOP nomination for state attorney general, with Paxton running for Senate. Roy has been a prominent member of the conservative Freedom Caucus.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Sara Cline and Jamie Stengle in Dallas and Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DALLAS (AP) \u2014 Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn is trying to hold on for a fifth term in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":189337,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2137,74708,11346,75321,13909,27900,4952,2136,102,27691,145,288,71971,490,3496,28891,392,74718,2135,3481,3309,38905,1967,57891,19617,75323,287,22824,33870,3098,75322,7883,27,29,28,75324,2566,5576,1499,9931,35637,31814,6474],"class_list":{"0":"post-189336","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-texas","8":"tag-2026-elections","9":"tag-ada-cuellar","10":"tag-al-green","11":"tag-andrew-kern","12":"tag-bobby-pulido","13":"tag-brandon-herrera","14":"tag-christian-menefee","15":"tag-colin-allred","16":"tag-dallas","17":"tag-dan-crenshaw","18":"tag-donald-trump","19":"tag-elections","20":"tag-eric-flores","21":"tag-general-news","22":"tag-gina-hinojosa","23":"tag-government-and-politics","24":"tag-greg-abbott","25":"tag-iran-war","26":"tag-james-talarico","27":"tag-jasmine-crockett","28":"tag-john-cornyn","29":"tag-julie-johnson","30":"tag-ken-paxton","31":"tag-mark-teixeira","32":"tag-mayra-flores","33":"tag-monica","34":"tag-politics","35":"tag-run-off-elections","36":"tag-stephen-colbert","37":"tag-steve-toth","38":"tag-tanu-sani","39":"tag-ted-cruz","40":"tag-texas","41":"tag-texas-headlines","42":"tag-texas-news","43":"tag-tomas-sanchez","44":"tag-tony-gonzales","45":"tag-u-s-democratic-party","46":"tag-u-s-news","47":"tag-u-s-republican-party","48":"tag-united-states-senate","49":"tag-vicente-gonzalez","50":"tag-wesley-hunt"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=189336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/189337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=189336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=189336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=189336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}