{"id":501926,"date":"2026-03-03T21:14:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T21:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/501926\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T21:14:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T21:14:12","slug":"texas-sen-cornyn-tries-to-hold-seat-democrats-crockett-talarico-face-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/501926\/","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 U.S. Rep. 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. The war, which began over the weekend, has killed at least six U.S. service members<\/a>, spiraled into a regional confrontation<\/a> as Iran retaliated and sent oil and natural gas prices<\/a> soaring. President Donald Trump, who campaigned on an isolationist \u201cAmerica First\u201d agenda<\/a> and went to war without authorization from Congress<\/a>, faces mounting questions<\/a> over its rationale and an exit strategy.<\/p>\n

Tuesday also is the final day of voting in North Carolina and Arkansas in primaries that mark the start 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 that\u2019s expected to advance to a May runoff between the top two vote-getters. The three Republicans have 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

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, Crockett and Talarico race for Democrats<\/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 why Cornyn is 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

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

Cornyn raised those concerns Tuesday on Fox News. \u201cRepublican voters are going to need to decide, do we want to win?\u201d he said. <\/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

Crockett was scheduled to make stops across Houston, in Waco, at Prairie View A&M University and end at an election night watch party in Dallas. <\/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. Johnson, a first-term congresswoman, is seen as vulnerable partly because Allred previously represented part of the district, which weaves through the Dallas and Fort Worth areas. He also retains a national fundraising network from his Senate campaign. <\/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. The new one<\/a> includes two-thirds of Green\u2019s old district. <\/p>\n

Abbott and Hinojosa seem bound to face off for governor, while Roy seeks Paxton\u2019s office<\/p>\n

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is running for reelection and faces a likely matchup with Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa. <\/p>\n

Four-term U.S. Rep. Chip 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

Associated Press reporter Sara Cline 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":501927,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[164749,228735,223486,23,228733,228739,108789,228732,69124,1062,209783,12,1070,228734,793,222324,3138,10062,7095,228242,69123,8644,21482,167834,6590,76414,228738,131116,6377,3,111,228737,10674,228740,228736,9669,1022,225381,8638,795,3438,21,792,19,11162,22,20,25,24,21279,21492],"class_list":{"0":"post-501926","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-2026-elections","9":"tag-ada-cuellar","10":"tag-al-green","11":"tag-america","12":"tag-andrew-kern","13":"tag-bobby-pulido","14":"tag-brandon-herrera","15":"tag-christian-menefee","16":"tag-colin-allred","17":"tag-dallas","18":"tag-dan-crenshaw","19":"tag-donald-trump","20":"tag-elections","21":"tag-eric-flores","22":"tag-general-news","23":"tag-gina-hinojosa","24":"tag-government-and-politics","25":"tag-greg-abbott","26":"tag-houston","27":"tag-iran-war","28":"tag-james-talarico","29":"tag-jasmine-crockett","30":"tag-john-cornyn","31":"tag-julie-johnson","32":"tag-ken-paxton","33":"tag-mark-teixeira","34":"tag-mayra-flores","35":"tag-monica","36":"tag-national","37":"tag-news","38":"tag-politics","39":"tag-run-off-elections","40":"tag-stephen-colbert","41":"tag-steve-toth","42":"tag-tanu-sani","43":"tag-ted-cruz","44":"tag-texas","45":"tag-tony-gonzales","46":"tag-u-s-democratic-party","47":"tag-u-s-news","48":"tag-u-s-republican-party","49":"tag-united-states","50":"tag-united-states-government","51":"tag-united-states-of-america","52":"tag-united-states-senate","53":"tag-unitedstates","54":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","55":"tag-us","56":"tag-usa","57":"tag-vicente-gonzalez","58":"tag-wesley-hunt"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=501926"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501926\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/501927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=501926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=501926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=501926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}