Primary results of 2026 midterms are in for Texas and North Carolina
WASHINGTON (NBC, KYMA) - The first primary results of the 2026 midterms are in after voters headed to the polls in Texas and North Carolina Tuesday, two states that could determine control of the Senate in the fall.
Results are in for the first primaries of this year's high stakes midterm elections, with Texas-sized implications for control of Congress.
Four-term Republican incumbent Sen. John Cornyn is now headed to a runoff in May, with State Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) as neither candidate won a majority of the vote.
Sen. Cornyn cast Paxton as a liability for a series of scandals, from a 2023 impeachment on bribery charges, which he was acquitted by the State Senate, to a messy ongoing public divorce.
"I refuse to allow a flawed, self-centered, and shameless candidate like Ken Paxton risk everything we've worked so hard to build over these many years," Cornyn remarked.
Paxton, who's built his credentials through aggressively suing for conservative causes, pushed back saying, "You listened to what John Cornyn was selling and you weren't buying it...Tonight, change was on the ballot and change won."
Whoever prevails in the bruising battle will face State Rep. James Talarico (D-Texas), who NBC News now projects defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett as Democrats look to make a play for the traditionally red state, pointing to high turnout.
"We are not just trying to win an election, we are trying to fundamentally change our politics, and it's working," State Rep. Talarico expressed.
Democrats also aiming to gain ground in North Carolina's Senate race, where Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) is retiring.
Former Gov. Roy Cooper (D-N.C.) is now set to square off against former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley.
Two closely-watched races that could determine control of the Senate. President Donald Trump's influence also looms large in these early races.
The only Texas Republican incumbent in the House who did not have President Trump's endorsement, Dan Crenshaw, lost his race to State Rep. Steve Toth while on the Senate side, Cornyn and Paxton are still battling for the president's public backing.
