Early voting in the Texas primary elections begins Tuesday, Feb. 17, and runs through Friday, Feb. 27. Primary Election Day is Tuesday, March 3. The contests will decide which Republicans and Democrats advance to the general election ballot — and in many races, they could set up May runoffs if no candidate wins a majority.
At the top of the ticket is the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, where incumbent John Cornyn is facing a high-profile challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep Wesley Hunt. Cornyn is running on his tenure and experience in Washington; however, the far-right wing of the party appears to be unhappy with the four-term senator. Paxton and Hunt are both seeking to capture the affection of the hardcore MAGA voters. President Donald Trump has not endorsed a candidate.
On the Democratic side, the Senate contest includes U.S. Rep Jasmine Crockett and Texas Rep. James Talarico among the candidates seeking the nomination. The race will come down to building turnout in major metros and among younger and suburban voters, while also competing in parts of the state where recent cycles have been dominated by Republicans.
Crockett has made a name for herself as a formidable opponent of the Republican administration.
Talarico has positioned himself as a Christian liberal who is asking voters to demand more from their government.
With Paxton challenging Cornyn for Senate, that opened up his position as Texas attorney general which attracted four candidates, including U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, along with state lawmakers Mayes Middleton and Joan Huffman, and former Justice Department official Aaron Reitz.
Candidates are pitching voters on how aggressively the state should pursue lawsuits against the federal government, how the office should prioritize public corruption and consumer protection cases, and how Texas should approach high-profile issues such as immigration enforcement and abortion-related litigation.
This is the first primary since Texas completed its 2025 redistricting, and many voters may find they are now in a different congressional district than they remember, with different candidates.
Texas uses open primaries, meaning voters do not have to be registered with a party to participate — but they must choose either the Republican or Democratic primary when they vote and that decision determines which party’s runoff they may vote in later.
Election officials are urging voters to confirm their registration status, review sample ballots, and double-check district lines before heading to the polls — steps that can reduce confusion and keep lines moving as turnout builds in the final days before March 3.
Guest:
Scott Braddock is an Austin-based Texas political journalist. He is the editor of The Quorum Report, a long-running, subscriber-supported “insider” publication covering Texas politics. He is the host of the podcast “Quorum Report Radio.”
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This episode will be recorded on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, at 12:00 p.m.
