Texas Senate Primaries Launch Most Expensive Race in History as Cornyn Battles Paxton

Texas voters head to the polls Tuesday in what has become the most expensive Senate primary in American history, with Senator John Cornyn warning that Attorney General Ken Paxton's candidacy could cost Republicans their Senate majority. The Republican primary pits the establishment-backed Cornyn against the combative Paxton, who has staked out a more populist position, in a race that will test whether the GOP's MAGA and traditional wings can coexist. On the Democratic side, state Rep. James Talarico and Rep. Jasmine Crockett are locked in a competitive primary that has drawn national attention for its generational and ideological contrasts. The Texas race is the first major primary of the 2026 midterm cycle and will set the tone for a campaign season in which Republicans defend a razor-thin House majority while Democrats try to channel anti-war sentiment and economic anxiety into electoral gains.