Welcome to a special edition of At the Races! Throughout the 2026 primary season, watch for these updates from the CQ Roll Call campaign team on what you need to know for election day. Know someone who’d like to get this newsletter? They can subscribe here.
By Daniela Altimari and Mary Ellen McIntire
Texas Sen. John Cornyn’s bid for renomination in the Republican primary was a challenge from the start, but it grew exponentially tougher last week, when President Donald Trump endorsed state Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Less than two days before Tuesday’s Republican runoff, Trump reiterated his support for Paxton in a social media post, calling him a “GREAT Attorney General” who was “very loyal to your favorite President, ME.”
The contest between Cornyn and Paxton has been among the cycle’s nastiest, with the senator running ads accusing his opponent of financial impropriety, ethical lapses and moral failings. Paxton, a Trump-style political disrupter, has portrayed Cornyn as insufficiently loyal to the president, out of step with the party’s MAGA base and too willing to compromise with Democrats.
Cornyn finished ahead of Paxton in the first round in March – barely – but failed to clear the 50 percent threshold to avoid the runoff. The winner will face Democratic nominee, state Rep. James Talarico.
House races
The Cornyn-Paxton battle isn’t the only contest to be decided in Tuesday’s runoffs. Rep. Julie Elizabeth Johnson and former Rep. Colin Allred are competing in the Democratic primary in the deep-blue 33rd District, centered on Dallas.
Allred, a civil rights attorney and former NFL linebacker, represented the 32nd District for three terms but left to run for the Senate in 2024. Johnson, a former state representative, succeeded him.
After Allred lost his Senate bid, he launched a second Senate run last year, but later dropped out of the race and pivoted back to running for the House.
The race is the result of redistricting: Last year, the Texas Legislature, at Trump’s urging, redrew the state’s congressional map and shifted heavily Democratic sections of the 32nd District into the neighboring 33rd, which is currently held by retiring Democratic Rep. Marc Veasey. Johnson opted to run in the redrawn 33rd, as did Allred.
In another Democratic race spurred by redistricting, longtime Rep. Al Green will face Rep. Christian Menefee in the Houston-based 18th District. Green currently represents the Houston-area 9th District, which was redrawn to favor the GOP. Army veteran Alex Mealer, who has Trump’s endorsement, and state Rep. Briscoe Cain are competing in the GOP run-off for the 9th District.
One of the strangest races is unfolding in the newly redrawn San Antonio-area 35th District. Democrat Maureen Galindo, who finished first in the March primary, is facing Bexar County Sheriff’s deputy Johnny Garcia. Galindo, a sex therapist and housing advocate, has called for converting an immigration detention facility into “a prison for American Zionists,” drawing outrage from top Democrats and accusations that the GOP is funding ads propping up her campaign because it perceives her as the weaker general election candidate. Garcia has the support of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the campaign arm of the Blue Dog Coalition, among others.
The winner will face the victor of the district’s Republican primary runoff, which pits state Rep. John Lujan against Air Force veteran Carlos De La Cruz, the brother of Texas GOP Rep. Monica De La Cruz.
Photo finish
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