Texas Primary Night Reshapes Republican Landscape as Cornyn-Paxton Head to Runoff and Crenshaw Falls

The first major primary night of the 2026 midterm cycle reshaped the Republican landscape as Senator John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton advanced to a May 26 runoff in what has become the most expensive Senate race in Texas history — with Cornyn at roughly 43% to Paxton's 40%, and neither clearing the majority threshold. In the night's most stunning result, Rep. Dan Crenshaw was defeated in his Houston-area district by State Rep. Steve Toth in a double-digit upset that signals the continued rightward shift of the Republican primary electorate and the limits of the party's establishment wing. In North Carolina, former Democratic Governor Roy Cooper and former RNC Chairman Michael Whatley won their respective primaries, setting up a pivotal fall Senate contest that could determine which party controls the chamber. On the Texas Democratic side, State Rep. James Talarico held a narrow lead over Rep. Jasmine Crockett in a race complicated by Dallas County voting confusion that prompted a legal dispute over extended polling hours and a last-minute Texas Supreme Court intervention. The evening was also marked by a security scare when Dallas police arrested a man outside Paxton's election night watch party after finding ammunition and firearms in a car with no license plates.