Combustible Republican Senate primary in Texas heading into overtime

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AUSTIN, TEXAS– The expensive and contentious battle for the Republican Senate nomination in Texas is headed to a May runoff, after none of the three major candidates in the crowded field of contenders topped 50% of the vote in Tuesday’s primary election.

Longtime incumbent Sen.John Cornyn will face off with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton after they finished in the top two in the primary, with Rep.Wesley Hunt in third place, according to unofficial primary election results.

The winner will face off with either progressive firebrand Rep.Jasmine Crockett, a vocal critic and foil of PresidentDonald Trump, or rising star state Rep.James Talarcio, who were vying for the Democratic Senate nomination.Both were trying to become the first Democrat in nearly four decades to win a Senate election in right-leaning Texas.

This year’s Senateshowdown in Texasis one of a handful across the country that could determine if Republicans hold their majority in the chamber in the midterm elections.The GOP currently controls the chamber 53-47.

TheCornyn campaignand aligned super PACs spent nearly $100 million to run ads attacking Paxton and Hunt, with the senator charging in the closing weeks of the primary campaign that Democrats will flip the seat in the general election if Paxton’s the GOP’s nominee.

Cornyn, his allies, and theNational Republican Senatorial Committee, the campaign arm of the Senate GOP, repeatedly pointed to the slew of scandals and legal problems that have battered Paxton over the past decade, as well as his ongoing messy divorce.

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“If I’m the nominee, I’ll help President Trump by making sure that we carry the five new congressional seats as well as maintain this Senate seat and will help him continue his agenda through the last two years of his term of office,�

Sen.John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks during a campaign stop in The Woodlands, Texas, Saturday, Feb.28, 2026.(Annie Mulligan/AP Photo)

And, he argued, “If the Democrats win, because we nominate a flawed candidate with incredible baggage like the attorney general, then that last two years of [Trump’s] agenda is jeopardized, as well as everybody down ballot that we need to continue to elect as Republicans.”

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican Senate candidate, speaks to supporters at a campaign event on primary eve, in Waco, Texas, on March 2, 2026.

“This idea that I can’t win a race is not true… there’s no evidence of what he’s saying is being true.As a matter of fact, the evidence is just the opposite,” Paxton added.

Paxton was boosted a few weeks ago by an endorsement from the political wing of Turning Point USA, the powerful grassroots conservative organization that was long steered by the late Charlie Kirk.

The GOP nomination battle was a two-person race untilHunt, a West Point graduateand military veteran who flew helicopters during his service and who represents a solidly red district in suburban Houston, announced his candidacy last autumn.

“I think there’s going to be a runoff, no matter what happens,” Cornyn predicted on Sunday.

Paxton, speaking to supporters on primary eve, touted that “if we go to a runoff, the odds get better for me,” as he pointed to what will likely be a smaller electorate for the May 26 runoff.

Rep. Wesley Hunt at primary eve campaign event

Republican Senate candidate Rep.

�s “the best candidate to win the primary and win the general.”

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And pointing to the negative ads from Cornyn and his allies that have targeted him the past couple of weeks, Hunt said, “They have spent tens of millions of dollars against me in the state of Texas, which means that I must be doing the right thing, and I must be a threat.DC will not decide who will be the next senator from Texas.Texans will and that’s why I got in this race.”

But Hunt fell short, coming in third place.

Trump, whose clout over the GOP remains immense, stayed neutral to date in the Republican primary.All three candidates, who sought the president’s endorsement, were in attendance Friday as Trump held an event inCorpus Christi, Texas.

“They’re in a little race together,” Trump said of Cornyn and Paxton.“You know that, right?A little bit of a race.It’s going to be an interesting one, right?They’re both great people, too.”

Trump also complimented Hunt, and said that all three contenders were engaged in an “interesting election.”

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with US Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) in a Whataburger restaurant in Corpus Christi, Texas.

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Sen.Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in a Whataburger restaurant in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Feb.27, 2026.(Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

While Trump stayed neutral, his top pollster, Tony Fabrizio, helped the Cornyn campaign.And veteran Republican strategist Chris LaCivita, who served as co-campaign manager of Trump’s 2024 White House bid, consulted for a top Cornyn-aligned super PAC.

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The big questions going forward as the runoff campaign gets underway are whether Trump will make an endorsement, and whether the major outside groups that supported Cornyn will continue to throw resources into the extended nomination battle.