Summary
Closing summary
Our live coverage of the March 2026 midterm primary elections is ending now. In the meantime, you can find all of our live US politics coverage here. Here is a summary of the key developments from today:
Voters headed to the polls for primary elections in Arkansas, North Carolina and Texas.
In North Carolina, former Democratic governor Roy Cooper and ex-Republican National Committee chairman Michael Whatley each won their party’s US Senate nominations.
Texas Republicans John Cornyn and Ken Paxton will advance to a primary runoff election for the open Senate seat on May 26. With 60% of votes counted in their races, the Associated Press reports Cornyn receiving 42.9% of the vote to Paxton’s 40.5%. Because neither candidate hit the 50% of the vote required to outwright win, the race will proceed to a runoff.
Texas governor Greg Abbott won a record fourth nomination by the Republican party in his quest for reelection – an expected result as the incumbent facing no serious competition this primary.
Texas’ Democratic primary between James Talarico and Jasmine Crockett is unlikely to be determined tonight, after voter confusion sparked a court battle. After the county Republican party refused to hold joint primaries with the Democrats, voters were rerouted to assigned precincts rather than the countywide polling locations they typically use. The confusion prompted a court to allow polls to remain open late in Dallas and Williamson counties, but state attorney general Ken Paxton appealed the Dallas county ruling to the state supreme court.
Ken Paxton railed against Senate leadership, including his opponent John Cornyn, who he will face in a May runoff election, in a speech to supporters this evening.
“We just sent a message, loud and clear, to Washington,” he said. “We are not going to go quietly, and we are not going to let you buy the seat.” His comments appeared to reference Cornyn’s campaign and allied super PACS, which spent more than $68 million on television ads since October.
“We proved something they’ll never understand in Washington,” Paxton said. “Texas is not for sale.”
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