2026 United States Senate election in Texas

TBD

James Talarico

Party

Republican

Democratic | | | | TBD | James Talarico | | Republican | Democratic | | | | | | | | | | | | TBD | James Talarico | | | | | | | | | Republican | Democratic | | | | | | | | | Incumbent U.S. senator John Cornyn Republican | Incumbent U.S. senator John Cornyn Republican | | | | | | | | | Incumbent U.S. senator John Cornyn Republican | | | | | | | | |

The 2026 United States Senate election in Texas will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Texas. State representative James Talarico is the Democratic nominee. The Republican nominee will be determined in a runoff election between four-term incumbent John Cornyn and state attorney general Ken Paxton on May 26, 2026, after no candidate secured a majority of the vote in the March 3 primary. Democrats have not won a Senate election in Texas since 1988.

Incumbent senator John Cornyn is seeking a fifth term but is facing a competitive primary from attorney general Ken Paxton, which is progressing to a runoff after no candidate reached a majority in the first round. The two have clashed for years, with Paxton criticizing Cornyn for being insufficiently conservative, particularly over his support for U.S. aid to Ukraine, DREAM Act for DACA beneficiaries and playing a leading role in the passage of the bipartisan gun safety bill after the Uvalde school massacre. Cornyn, in turn, has highlighted Paxton's legal troubles, perceived character flaws and corruption, and his 2023 impeachment, in which Paxton was impeached by the Republican-controlled Texas House before the Senate later acquitted him of all charges.

The race has been seen as a key contest between the Texas Republican Party's establishment wing and its hardline conservative faction. In recent years, insurgent hard-right candidates have steadily gained ground, often ousting more traditional GOP officials. Polling reflects this divide: Paxton holds a commanding lead among "Trump Movement" voters, while Cornyn performs better with the smaller group of "Traditional Republicans". On May 19, 2026 Donald Trump announced his endorsement for Paxton, while previously describing both Paxton and Cornyn as good friends. His influence was widely seen as a key factor in determining the primary winner. He had previously criticized Cornyn as a "hopeless" RINO (Republican in name only) for supporting the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, an attack Paxton's campaign highlighted in their ads. Ted Cruz, the junior senator, has likewise avoided taking a side in the primary, though he previously endorsed Cornyn in 2020.

The election takes place amid efforts by the state Republican Party to restrict its primary to registered members. Legislation to allow closed primaries failed, prompting the party to sue the state, claiming the current law violates the First Amendment. Despite serving as the state's attorney general, Paxton declined to defend the law in court, drawing criticism from those who argued he would gain electorally from a closed primary.

• John Cornyn, incumbent U.S. senator (2002–present)

• Ken Paxton, attorney general of Texas (2015–present)

• John Adefope

• Anna Bender, IT analyst

• Virgil Bierschwale, software developer and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2020

• Sara Canady, former Wilson County Justice of the Peace and candidate for Texas's 15th congressional district in 2022

• Wesley Hunt, U.S. representative from Texas's 38th congressional district (2023–present) (endorsed Paxton)

• Gulrez "Gus" Khan, entrepreneur, candidate for Texas's 32nd congressional district in 2024, and candidate for mayor of Lubbock in 2022

• Alexander Duncan, police officer

• Rennie Mann, president of the Richland Springs school board

• Barrett McNabb, chiropractic business owner (ran for U.S. House)

• Tony Schmoker, realtor

• Leo Wyatt

Paxton led Cornyn in early polling both before and after entering the race, though concerns about his general election viability persist, as polls show him underperforming Cornyn and, in some cases, trailing hypothetical Democratic opponents. This led many Republicans to back Cornyn, as Senate GOP leaders pressed Trump for an endorsement. Cornyn told The Wall Street Journal in June 2025 that he would consider stepping aside if a stronger candidate emerged to defeat Paxton, but he quickly walked back the comment, stating he would remain in the race. Congressman Wesley Hunt entered the race in late 2025, further scrambling the race and increased the chance of a runoff.

All three candidates competed for the endorsement of Donald Trump, having made support for him and his agenda central to their campaigns; however, Trump declined to back a single candidate, instead stating he supports "all three". Cornyn had maintained a substantial fundraising lead over the other candidates throughout the race, spending much of it attacking Paxton. The early three-way polling had been very narrow, usually with Cornyn and Paxton making the runoff and no candidate close to winning outright. While campaigning, all three tapped into Islamophobic sentiment in their advertisements and actions, with Cornyn and Paxton having targeted the EPIC City development in Collin County with investigations and lawsuits.

Candidates in italics withdrew before the primary election took place.

Aggregate polls

Results by county .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{}  Cornyn   20–30%   30–40%   40–50%   50–60%   Paxton   20–30%   30–40%   40–50%   50–60%

Cornyn led Paxton narrowly in the primary election, garnering 41.9% of the vote to Paxton's 40.7%, while Hunt placed a distant third with 13.5% of the vote. Support for Cornyn and Paxton was relatively evenly spread across the state, though Cornyn performed slightly better in urban areas, especially Dallas and Austin, while Paxton performed slightly better in rural areas, particularly in East Texas. Hunt performed slightly better in regions which backed Paxton, suggesting his presence on the ballot hurt Cornyn more than Paxton. Even in Hunt's own congressional district, he came in third with barely over 20% of the vote.

In the days leading up to the March 3 primary, Paxton suggested he could win outright and avoid a runoff. However, Cornyn overperformed expectations in what The Texas Tribune described as a "better-than-expected showing". Rolando Garcia, a member of the State Republican Executive Committee who supported Hunt in the primary but plans to back Paxton in the runoff, said the result should alarm the Paxton campaign. On March 5, The Atlantic reported that Trump advisers expected the president to endorse Cornyn in the runoff election after his unexpectedly strong performance in the first round of voting.

Despite speculation following his first-place primary finish that Trump would endorse Cornyn, Trump did not endorse either candidate by the March 17 withdrawal deadline. Republicans had hoped the non-endorsed candidate would exit to avoid a costly runoff and allow the nominee to focus on the general election. However, Paxton refused to withdraw unless the Senate eliminated the filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act. Meanwhile, Cornyn, previously a staunch defender of the filibuster, signaled openness to reforming or bypassing it, as Trump indicated his endorsement could hinge on the bill's passage.

Political observers have described the runoff campaign between Paxton and Cornyn as "vile" and "brutal," featuring almost exclusively negative advertising from both sides. Cornyn has repeatedly attacked Paxton's character, especially regarding alleged infidelity towards his wife, state senator Angela Paxton, who had filed for divorce on "biblical grounds," and compared his ethics to that of a "strip club owner." He has also highlighted the political scandals that have plagued Paxton's career, including his 2023 impeachment by the Texas House of Representatives, framing him as corrupt and unfit for political office. Paxton has continued to frame Cornyn as insufficiently loyal to Donald Trump. His office has also drawn scrutiny over a sharp increase in publicly-announced lawsuits made in his capacity as attorney general since announcing his Senate run and especially in the months immediately before the March primary. A sizeable number of these actions focus on issues salient to conservative voters, including immigration, Islam, DEI, student protests, and elections, drawing accusations that he is using his office to energize his voter base and boost his campaign ahead of the runoff.

The runoff has considerably fractured both the Republican electorate and Republican officeholders in the state, who worry the money spent and political attacks may advantage Democratic nominee James Talarico, who won his primary without needing a runoff, allowing him to pivot his focus to the general election. Lieutenant governor Dan Patrick even warned that a depressed Republican turnout could jeopardize Republican control of the Texas House, though most others dismissed that as extremely unlikely, with many Republicans still expressing confidence both Paxton and Cornyn could win the general election. Both candidates continued to court Trump's endorsement to consolidate support from the party, but Trump remained neutral in the race over two months after initially signaling his intention to endorse one of them. This jockeying has included policy-related moves as well as superficial ones, such as a bill introduced by Cornyn to designate U.S. Route 287 as Interstate 47 to honor Trump.

On May 19, one week before the runoff, Trump announced his endorsement of Ken Paxton. U.S. Representative Wesley Hunt, who finished third in the first round primary, also endorsed Paxton that day.

Democrats, who have not won a statewide election in Texas since 1994, see an opening in the state due to the bitter and divisive primary fight in the Republican side, a potential midterm backlash against the Trump administration, negative approval ratings for President Trump in Texas as well as recent polling numbers showing competitive matchups.

Colin Allred, who unsuccessfully ran against incumbent Republican senator Ted Cruz in 2024, exited the race on December 8, 2025, which precipitated Jasmine Crockett's entry into the race.

A Talarico rally at The Backyard in San Antonio

Crockett entered the race with high name recognition and strong polling numbers, but her launch on the last day to file meant she had limited time for campaigning statewide. According to polling data in February 2026 prior to the primaries, Crockett originally had a favorability percentage of 23%, and an unfavorable percentage of 25% while Talarico came in at 18% favorable and 9% unfavorable. She did not hire a campaign manager and focused on advertising over a staffed field operation.

Crockett and Talarico participated in a debate on January 24, 2026, hosted by the AFL-CIO in Georgetown. During the debate, both candidates largely aligned on policy and engaged in limited direct attacks. Crockett defended her "firebrand" style as necessary for the political moment, while Talarico emphasized a more measured approach and his perceived electability against Ken Paxton. Talarico later faced controversy after a social media influencer alleged he had referred to former rival Colin Allred as a "mediocre Black man" in comparison to Crockett in a private conversation; Talarico disputed the claim as a mischaracterization. Allred subsequently endorsed Crockett and criticized Talarico. The episode further exposed the racial tension between each candidate's base of support, with Crockett performing best among Black voters, Democrats' strongest voter base, and Talarico performing best among White and Latino voters, demographics which hold far more swing voters.

On February 16, Talarico was scheduled to appear on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. According to Colbert, however, CBS did not allow him to air the interview nor mention the cancellation on-air based on a recently revised interpretation of the FCC's equal-time rule, although he discussed it anyway during that night's episode in spite of FCC threats. Colbert later posted the interview to the show's YouTube page. The interview gained millions of views online, while Talarico fundraised $2.5 million in the aftermath and increased his name recognition as early voting began ahead of the March 3 primary. Analysts largely viewed the campaign as one based on personality and electability rather than ideology.

After the primary, Crockett conceded to Talarico, but did not endorse him.

• James Talarico, state representative from the 50th district (2018–present)

• Jasmine Crockett, U.S. representative from Texas's 30th congressional district (2023–present)

• Ahmad R. Hassan, real estate broker, attorney and perennial candidate

• Colin Allred, former U.S. representative from Texas's 32nd congressional district (2019–2025) and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2024 (running for U.S. House, endorsed Crockett)

• Emily Morgul, administrative assistant

• Michael Swanson, waiter

• Terry Virts, retired United States Air Force pilot and NASA astronaut (ran for U.S. House)

• Paula Williams, realtor

• Joaquin Castro, U.S. representative from Texas's 20th congressional district (2013–present) (running for re-election)

• Veronica Escobar, U.S. representative from Texas's 16th congressional district (2019–present) (running for re-election)

• Clay Jenkins, Dallas County judge (2011–present)

• Marc Veasey, U.S. representative from Texas's 33rd congressional district (2013–present) (endorsed Allred)

Aggregate polls

Results by county   Talarico   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%   >90%   Crockett   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%   Talarico/Crockett Tie   40–50%   50%   Talarico/Hassan Tie   50%

James Talarico won the Democratic primary with 52.4% of the vote. After a dispute concerning voting hours in Dallas and Williamson Counties on the night of the primary, Crockett conceded the race on March 4. The dispute in Dallas County arose from the county Republican Party's decision not to use countywide voting centers, where voters can cast ballots at any location, on Election Day, as Texas law requires both parties to agree in order to implement them. On March 17, the Dallas County GOP announced it would use countywide voting centers for the runoff.

Issues with a ballot scanning and tabulation machine in Newton County led to the county clerk writing in a court filing that its Democratic statewide primary results, with Hassan winning the county, were "skewed" and that a recount was required, which eventually had to be done by hand due to the scanning issues persisting, with the revised results showing Crockett winning the county.

Democrats cast more primary votes in a midterm election than Republicans for the first time since 2002. The results largely mirrored those of the 2020 primary for this seat, which also pitted a Black Democrat from Dallas (Royce West) against a White Democrat from the Austin area (M. J. Hegar). Crockett performed best among Black voters, winning by large margins in East Texas, as well as by smaller margins in the urban centers of Dallas and Harris counties. Talarico won the White and Hispanic vote, dominating in the Austin metro area, and winning the state's remaining rural areas, including the heavily-Hispanic Rio Grande Valley.

The Libertarian Party convention was held from April 10 to 12, 2026, in Abilene. Ted Brown, the party's U.S. senate nominee in 2024, secured the nomination with 83 votes to Daniel "Mark" Sims's 39.

• Ted Brown

• Daniel Sims

• Robert Smith, assistant professor

• Joshua Cain

• Ronald Evans

• Camencia Ford, businesswoman

• Jade Simmons, concert pianist, motivational speaker, and 2020 presidential candidate

• Hans Truelson

John Cornyn vs. James Talarico

Aggregate polls

Ken Paxton vs. James Talarico

Aggregate polls

Partisan clients

Official campaign websites

• Ted Brown (L)
• John Cornyn (R)
• Ken Paxton (R)
• Robert Smith (G)
• James Talarico (D)