5 takeaways from the first primaries of the 2026 midterms
Paxton advanced to a runoff against John Cornyn, and the article describes his pitch for change and his rivalry with the incumbent.

SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYCredibility rates NBC New York, which republished this story. The other scores rate the article itself.
NBC News is an established national newsroom with named reporters, and the article attributes claims and quotations to identifiable sources. The page appears on a local NBC affiliate site but credits NBC News for the reporting.
- Track record — NBC News is an established national news organization with a substantial record of political reporting.
- Editorial standards — The article presents reported election developments and attributes quotations and analysis to named sources.
- Author attribution — Four reporters are named, with NBC News identified in the byline.
The article provides specific results, vote-margin descriptions and campaign spending figures, and includes comments from a named strategist and candidates. It offers useful comparisons across races but limited direct voter perspectives and relatively little independent sourcing for some broader interpretations.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The piece covers contests and arguments from both parties and includes competing candidates’ claims, but several broader interpretations rely on a limited range of quoted sources.
- Counterarguments presented — Opposing candidates' strategies and claims are described in several races.
- Source diversity — Candidate statements and a named strategist appear, but independent voter voices are absent.
- Opinion vs reporting — The article is reported analysis, with interpretations generally presented as takeaways rather than fact-free advocacy.
The article presents election results and competing campaign arguments in mostly descriptive language. Its emphasis on populist and generational divisions is analytical rather than clearly aligned with one political side.
- Language tone — Mostly matter-of-fact language, with some interpretive descriptions of the races.
- Source selection — Includes comments from candidates and a Democratic strategist, alongside reported election results.
- Framing — Frames the results around party divisions and Trump's influence without an evident partisan endorsement.
Republished with credit
Republished from NBC News, with credit to the original publisher.
286 stories · 85–86 · updated Oct 9, 2026
This is NBC News's own score, and this article is credited to NBC News. The host score in the Source Check is NBC New York's.
The first 2026 primaries produced a Texas Senate runoff, a projected Democratic Senate nominee and close House contests. The results also highlighted the influence of President Donald Trump’s endorsements and divisions over strategy and ideology within both parties.
In Texas, Sen. John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton advanced to a May 26 Republican Senate runoff, while NBC News projected James Talarico as the winner of the Democratic Senate primary over Jasmine Crockett. Close House contests included a narrow lead for Valerie Foushee over Nida Allam and for Christian Menefee over Al Green. The article describes Talarico’s win as evidence of support for a populist approach among Democrats.
The article says Trump’s endorsements remained influential in Republican primaries, noting that Dan Crenshaw lost to Steve Toth after Trump did not endorse him, while several Trump-endorsed candidates won. It also reports that Trump withdrew his endorsement of Jeff Hurd after Hurd voted against the president’s tariffs on Canada, and discusses the possibility of future congressional votes on Iran war powers and tariffs.
Community verdict
VOTING CLOSEDNo good or bad look here
This story reports what happened without casting Paxton in a good or bad light, so readers don’t rate it and it doesn’t count toward Paxton’s record.
People in this story
SWIPE →Democratic candidate in the Texas Senate primary
Talarico's version of this story ↗President whose endorsements and influence are examined in Republican primaries
Trump's version of this story ↗Republican incumbent in the Texas Senate primary runoff
Cornyn's version of this story ↗Democratic candidate who lost the Texas Senate primary to James Talarico
Democratic representative in a close North Carolina House primary
Republican House candidate who won a primary with Trump's support
Representative mentioned for winning a recent special Democratic House primary
Democratic representative leading in the Houston House primary
State representative and Republican House candidate in a runoff against Alexandra Mealer
Republican House candidate who won a primary with Trump's support
Republican House candidate who won a primary with Trump's support
Republican representative whose endorsement from Trump was withdrawn
Republican representative who lost his primary to Steve Toth
Democratic House candidate and endorser of James Talarico
Democratic challenger in the North Carolina House primary
Democratic representative trailing in the Houston House primary
Republican representative who left the Texas Senate primary race
Republican House candidate who won a primary with Trump's support
Republican House candidate heading to a runoff against Briscoe Cain
Republican House candidate who advanced to a runoff despite Trump's endorsement
State representative who defeated Dan Crenshaw in the Republican primary
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