The initial round of primaries this year produced several notable developments across Texas and North Carolina, with particular focus on high-profile contests in the Senate and House races.
The most significant race was Texas’ Republican Senate primary between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton. Neither candidate secured the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff scheduled for May, with Cornyn holding a roughly 26,000-vote advantage out of 2.1 million ballots counted by Wednesday morning. The race was framed by observers as a contest between establishment and insurgent factions, with Paxton criticizing Cornyn as too aligned with Washington Republicans and insufficiently loyal to President Donald Trump. Geographic voting patterns showed mixed results, with Cornyn leading in the state’s largest urban counties including Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio, Austin, and Houston, while Paxton performed well in suburban counties surrounding these metropolitan areas. Paxton accumulated particular strength in counties where Trump achieved his highest vote shares in 2024, while Cornyn performed better in counties less favorable to the former president.
On the Democratic side, the Senate primary was marked by voting complications in Harris County, the state’s second-largest county, which created confusion regarding ballot eligibility. State Rep. James Talarico won his Democratic primary outright with substantial support from Austin and rural central Texas counties, receiving nearly 70% of votes collectively in these areas. Talarico also performed strongly in southern and western regions with significant Hispanic populations.
House races across both Texas and North Carolina reflected substantial spending increases, partly attributable to newly redrawn congressional maps. Texas districts 15 and 34, redrawn to favor Republicans, emerged as among the state’s most expensive House contests. In North Carolina, the 1st District saw five Republicans competing in a primary to challenge vulnerable Democratic incumbent Rep. Don Davis, with eventual winner Laurie Buckhout spending over $1 million on advertising alone. Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw became the first House incumbent of 2026 to lose reelection, despite his campaign deploying more than $2.3 million in opposition advertising. Several other House races remained too close to call or were advancing to runoffs.
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