Key primary races in North Carolina and Texas on Tuesday led to a mix of expected victories, surprising upsets and political stalemates setting up runoff elections. At stake are not only the House and Senate seats for the two states but potentially control of the two congressional chambers, as Republicans seek to maintain control of Congress and Democrats see openings to retake the House and perhaps the Senate as well.
GOP primaries leave key Republicans fighting for seats
Although multiple states held primary elections on Tuesday, Texas drew the most national attention, headlined by Democratic and Republican primaries for the Senate seat currently held by long-time GOP Sen. John Cornyn. The sitting senator will face Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a runoff election after neither Republican reached a majority of votes in the GOP primary. Also heading into a runoff is incumbent Republican Rep. Tony Gonzalez, who has faced scandal for allegedly having an affair with a female staffer who later died by suicide after setting herself on fire in 2025. Gonzalez has denied the accusations, but leaked text messages appear to show him sexually harassing the staffer, leading to calls from several lawmakers for Gonzalez to resign. Right-wing Rep. Dan Crenshaw was badly defeated in his primary race by MAGA challenger Steve Toth. Crenshaw, who has been accused of not being loyal enough to President Donald Trump, was the only Texas Republican incumbent member of Congress who did not get Trump’s endorsement.
Texas Democrats pitted against one another after GOP gerrymandering
Meanwhile, in a contest marred by voters being turned away from their polling places due to Republican-induced rule changes, James Talarico defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett to become the Democratic nominee. When entering the Senate race, Crockett dropped her reelection campaign for her House seat, and her pastor, Rev. Frederick Haynes III of Friendship-West Baptist Church, won the Democratic primary for the 30th District seat currently held by Crockett. Elsewhere in Texas, outspoken Rep. Al Green, who was recently escorted out of Trump’s State of the Union address for protesting, is heading for a runoff against Rep. Christian Menefee, who only took office in February after winning a special election. The two will compete to represent the Houston-area 18th District, which was redrawn as part of the state’s Republican-led gerrymandering.
North Carolina boosts Democrats’ hopes for Senate swing
The other state that drew significant national attention Tuesday was North Carolina, where Democrats also hope to flip a Republican-held Senate seat. With incumbent GOP Sen. Thom Tillis not seeking reelection, Trump-endorsed candidate Michael Whatley easily won Tuesday’s Republican primary. He will face off against popular former Gov. Roy Cooper, who cruised to a primary victory with over 90% of the vote. North Carolina has emerged as a swing state, voting for Trump in the last three presidential elections but also electing Cooper in 2016 and 2020. Democrats see the North Carolina Senate race as a must-win as they attempt the difficult task of retaking the Senate.
With both houses of Congress potentially up for grabs, Tuesday’s primary races in Texas and North Carolina held importance not only for those states but for the nation as well. Significant national attention and money are likely to be directed toward the Senate races in both states, while a slate of incumbent representatives and new challengers battle for House seats to represent Texas.