US Senate candidates in Texas make final pitches to voters ahead of Tuesday's primary

A heated U.S. Senate race in Texas is entering its final stretch before voters decide Tuesday who will be their party's nominee in November

AUSTIN, Texas -- A heated U.S. Senate race in Texas entered its final stretch on Sunday with candidates on both sides of the aisle making final pitches to voters ahead of Tuesday's primary, the nation’s first big contest of the 2026 midterm elections.

Incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is trying to hold on to the seat he has held since first being elected in 2002, but finds himself in the toughest race of his long career against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt.

“Complacency is a killer,” Cornyn told voters Saturday at a seafood restaurant in The Woodlands, a Houston suburb. “It kills relationships. It kills careers.”

Democrats haven’t won a Senate race in Texas since 1988, but they see an opening this year to help boost their long-shot hopes of recapturing a Senate majority, especially if Republicans nominate Paxton, who is popular with MAGA voters but has had years of legal problems.

On the Democratic side, state Rep. James Talarico, a self-described policy wonk who emphasizes his crossover appeal to Republicans, faces U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a rhetorical brawler on Capitol Hill who received a high-profile endorsement Friday from former Vice President Kamala Harris.