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Signs are displayed outside of a voting center during primary election runoff day at Oak Lawn Library on Tuesday, May 26, 2026 in Dallas.<\/p>\n
Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Voters will settle key runoffs in Texas Tuesday as Republicans and Democrats cast ballots in congressional, statewide and county races<\/a>, including a closely watched showdown for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination.<\/p>\n Winners will advance to November\u2019s general election, which could reshape power<\/a> and elevate the next generation of leaders in Texas politics.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Voters must be in line by 7 p.m. Tuesday to vote in person. Election results will be posted live at dallasnews.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a marquee U.S. Senate runoff, current Sen. John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton are facing off for the Republican nomination in one of the state\u2019s most contentious campaigns<\/a>. The winner will advance to face Democrat James Talarico in November.\u00a0<\/p>\n The GOP battle was top of mind at polls<\/a> across Dallas County. At Irving City Hall Tuesday, John Callaway climbed the steps to vote, but made a few stops before the ballot box. First he had to hand out peppermint candies to his fellow voters and the election clerks working inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n Make Dallas News a preferred source so your search results prioritize writing by actual people, not AI.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n As a Republican, Callaway said he cast his vote with his nose plugged in the runoff for U.S. Senate<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cI chose the least narcissistic,\u201d he said, while politely declining to name who got his vote.<\/p>\n Bryan Auston, 62, said his decisions weren\u2019t exactly easy on Tuesday, either, but ultimately cast a ballot for Paxton.\u00a0He said his priority was supporting candidates who are\u00a0 strongest on gun rights.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you don\u2019t vote you don\u2019t have an argument,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Voters are also deciding\u00a0runoffs<\/a> in both parties for attorney general.\u00a0In the North Texas Democratic congressional runoff<\/a>, U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson is facing a challenge from former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Here are live updates from the polls<\/a> as the last ballots are cast.\u00a0<\/p>\n Return to countywide voting<\/p>\n Voting unfolded slowly but smoothly in Dallas County\u2019s runoff on Tuesday, a change from the chaos<\/a> that took place during the March 3 primary election. After the county Republican Party forced a switch to precinct-based voting, thousands of confused voters from both parties, accustomed to the vote-anywhere system, were turned away from polls and redirected to their neighborhood voting sites.<\/p>\n Voters walk out of a voting center during primary election runoff day at University Park United Methodist Church on Tuesday, May 26, 2026.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n But Tuesday, there were no confused voters, no clerks having to\u00a0send them to another location<\/a> to cast their ballots, no frustration in the air as slow stream of voters trickled into The Father\u2019s Church on Abrams Road.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been quiet<\/a>, thank goodness,\u201d said Republican election Judge Lila Farmer.<\/p>\n Citing a fear of being sued for voter disenfranchisement, former GOP Chair Allen West then amended the party’s contract to return to countywide voting<\/a> for the runoff where residents can cast a ballot at any vote center regardless of address. \u00a0<\/p>\n Still, the runoff remained a non-joint election, meaning Democrats and Republicans were required to announce their affiliation by using separate check-in tables, voting machines and election workers within the same locations.<\/p>\n Those who voted in a party\u2019s March primary must stay with that party in the runoff. Those who skipped the March primary can participate in either runoff.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Volunteers wave signs outside of Fretz Park library during primary election runoff day, on Tuesday, May 26, 2026.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Trump chimes in, Angela Paxton quiet<\/p>\n President Donald Trump\u2019s endorsement of Paxton<\/a> scrambled the final days of Texas\u2019 Republican Senate runoff. Some allies of the attorney general acted as if the endorsement decided the race in Paxton\u2019s favor, while others warned it should not be mistaken for actual votes.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Cornyn, meanwhile, vowed to press on, arguing Texans alone would decide the race<\/a>.<\/p>\n The stakes are especially high in a matchup in which early voting has collapsed from March primary levels, leaving both sides trying to maximize turnout after Trump\u2019s late intervention.<\/p>\n State Sen. Angela Paxton urged Republicans<\/a> to vote in Tuesday\u2019s runoff but stopped short of endorsing anyone in the Senate race featuring the attorney general, her estranged husband. Angela Paxton has filed for divorce from Ken Paxton, accusing him of adultery.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Voters weigh Senate options<\/p>\n At Fretz Park Branch Library in Far North Dallas, Jerry Bissey, 76, cast a ballot for Cornyn in the closely-watched Senate runoff<\/a> against Paxton.<\/p>\n The decision was tough for Bissey, who said he liked that Paxton\u2019s policy positions<\/a> were more conservative than Cornyn\u2019s.<\/p>\n \u201cHe doesn\u2019t side with Trump nearly enough,\u201d Bissey said of Cornyn.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Voters walk out of a voting center during primary election runoff day at University Park United Methodist Church on Tuesday, May 26, 2026.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n His choice ultimately came down to the corruption allegations against Paxton and the attorney general\u2019s 2023 impeachment.<\/p>\n Melanie Wright, 75, cast her ballot for Paxton and said she would have voted for him even if President Trump hadn\u2019t endorsed him. Wright said that the corruption allegations that led to Paxton\u2019s 2023 impeachment by the Texas House didn\u2019t influence her vote because she said the candidate was \u201cvindicated\u201d when the Senate acquitted him.<\/p>\n \u201cI was tired of John Cornyn,\u201d Wright said at Fretz Park Branch Library. \u201cHe\u2019s been living on his laurels a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n She said she appreciated that Paxton has been an \u201caggressive\u201d attorney general, filing lawsuits against big companies. Paxton\u2019s extramarital affair, which Cornyn\u2019s campaign has highlighted in attack ads<\/a>, didn\u2019t affect Wright\u2019s support either.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not electing a preacher,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Democrats divided in District 33<\/p>\n Former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred and incumbent U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson are facing off in Tuesday\u2019s runoff for a newly drawn North Texas district<\/a>, capping a race that has turned the onetime Democratic allies against each other.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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