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Texas's Senate Primary Has Already Made History—and It's Not Over Yet

Cornyn advanced to a runoff with Paxton, and the article discusses his campaign attacks and the possible consequences of a Trump endorsement.

Texas's Senate Primary Has Already Made History—and It's Not Over Yet
Image · The Nation

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Outlet credibilityThe Nation65/100 MEDIUM
This article1 analysis · Oct 9, 2026
Mar 5, 2026
tl;dr

James Talarico won the Democratic Senate nomination, while Ken Paxton and John Cornyn advanced to a Republican runoff. The opinion article argues that record Democratic primary turnout and voting-access problems in Dallas County could shape the fall race.

Community verdict

VOTING CLOSED
How does this story look for
John Cornyn R · TX · SEN
NOT RATEDCLOSED

No good or bad look here

This story reports what happened without casting Cornyn in a good or bad light, so readers don’t rate it and it doesn’t count toward Cornyn’s record.

● INFORMATIONAL

People in this story

SWIPE →
John Cornyn
R · TX · SEN

Republican senator and Senate candidate headed to a runoff

PRIMARY SUBJECT

Representative and Democratic Senate primary candidate

Crockett's version of this story ↗

Democratic Senate nominee in Texas

Talarico's version of this story ↗
Ken Paxton
R · TX

Republican Senate candidate headed to a runoff

Paxton's version of this story ↗
Donald Trump
R · President of the United States

President and potential endorser in the Republican runoff

Ted Cruz
R · TX · SEN

Texas senator and former Senate candidate in the campaigns discussed

Beto O'Rourke
Former U.S. Representative (D-TX)

Former Texas Senate and gubernatorial candidate

Colin Z. Allred
Former U.S. Representative (D-TX)

Former Senate candidate in the 2024 Texas race

ALSO MENTIONED  Brendan Carr, FCC chairman

Part of a bigger story

6 OUTLETS
Cornyn and Paxton Advance to Texas Senate Primary Runoff

John Cornyn finished ahead of Ken Paxton in Texas’s Republican Senate primary, but neither won outright, sending the race to a runoff. Left-leaning outlets cast the runoff as a potential general-election liability for Republicans, focusing on Paxton’s appeal, criticism of the candidates, and Democratic turnout or voting-access concerns. Center outlets place the result among broader primary races and electoral calculations, with The Dallas Morning News also reporting confusion at Dallas County polling locations.

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