Polls are open until 7 p.m. local time.
News and Analysis
-
AP via PBS NewsHour: What to expect in the Texas US Senate Republican primary runoff
Voter Resources
Live Updates
Text-based live update pages are being maintained by the following outlets: AP, [](), NBC, El Paso Times, and USA Today.
Where to Watch
Results
-
Texas Tribune: Texas 2026 primary runoff election results
-
The New Yorker: Texas Senate Republican Primary Runoff: Live Results
Discussion Thread: Texas Runoff Elections on May 26, 2026
byu/PoliticsModeratorBot inpolitics
5 Comments
It’s tough. Like, if Democrats actually have a non-zero chance to win statewide, this will prove it: this election cycle is wildly anti-Republican, Talarico was grown in a lab to have appeal to avowed independents, and Paxton is one of the most loathsome candidates to anyone who isn’t a full-on cultist possible. If Dem’s can’t win beat Paxton, they should give up on being able to win statewide in Texas, period.
All that is to say that Paxton winning would be a benefit to Talarico, but the risk/reward is so grim on that. Is Paxton the best chance for Dems? Yes. But if it turns out that he is the “best chance” at something that it turns out we had a zero percent chance of pulling off, we’re winding up with one of the worst people in politics today in the Senate.
I think Talarico is going to have no trouble getting to 46-47%, it’s the final mile here that’s going to be troublesome, and I would still project this as Lean R at best.
If it happens at all, I suspect it’ll be via an unpopular manner considering that “when we vote, we win” is still a popular mantra for Dems, and it’ll be simply be because voter turnout dropped a ton in the rurals because we saw that heavy turnout in Texas is going to be very conservative friendly.
Ken Paxton let a child rapist out of prison with a misdemeanor.
Republicans love pedophiles.
https://www.texastribune.org/2026/05/19/ken-paxton-waco-plea-deal-child-sex-abuse-texas-attorney-general/
What are the odds of either of these men running a write in campaign if they lose?
It’s gonna be something that’s going to develop as the campaign does, but if Paxton is the nominee, that can create a lot of ripple effects for a lot of other Senate races. Paxton isn’t a good fundraiser, and the RNC, NRSC, and various aligned Super PACs are going to have to fill the void that’s possibly going to be created by that. That’s possibly a nine figure ask over the course of a campaign.
So if you’re Michael Watley, who’s currently stuck in an already losing race against Roy Cooper, you suddenly might find yourself without the help from the party you would’ve expected six months ago. Ditto Sullivan, Husted, and whoever comes out of that primary in Iowa, who are all facing either well-funded, historically overperformant Democratic opponents, or have other ballot headwinds working against them.
If you combine that potential effect on other Senate races with Paxton’s own personal foibles and just poor record as a candidate, he’s easily looking to be the worst major party nominee since Roy Moore, and the worst nominee in a regularly scheduled election since either Todd Akin or Rodger Murdock.