The incumbent senator has dominated financially, thanks to an array of megadonors and dark money groups. The Tribune assembled a guide to the money behind the most expensive Senate primary ever.

PACs have accounted for 89% of ad spending in Texas’ congressional runoffs as crypto, AI and mystery groups flood the contests.

State senators in Louisiana have passed a new congressional map after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the previous one.

The incumbent senator and his allies have massively outspent the pro-Paxton side, though polling points to a tight finish in the May 26 election.

From U.S. Senate to Railroad Commission, the TribCast dives into the most contentious races we'll be watching on May 26

The former president greeted patrons while stopping for tacos near the University of Texas at Austin campus — a notable show of support for the Democrats atop the ticket this fall.

A new survey from the University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs shows a tight Republican primary runoff for U.S. Senate in Texas, with Attorney General Ken Paxton holding a slim lead over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn just weeks before voters head to the polls.

The primary election in Ohio has set up what is expected to be one of the most expensive races for U.S. Senate this year as Republicans try to hold on to the chamber, while biotech billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy will face a challenge from the state’s former health director as he seeks to keep the governor’s office in GOP hands.

The University of Houston survey results were within the margin of error less than a month out from the May 26 election. State Sen. Mayes Middleton had a wider lead in the attorney general primary.

President Donald Trump is having some success in his latest attempt to politically punish Republicans who stand in his way.

Ohio's primary election set up two marquee matchups in November.

Candidates for Ohio’s top elected offices will stand before voters in a statewide primary on Tuesday, although many of them are already looking ahead to the November general election.

President Donald Trump has endorsed Kentucky congressman Andy Barr in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell.

Restless Democratic voters are rejecting their party’s establishment.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against a Houston-area birth tourism operation accused of helping foreign nationals obtain U.S. citizenship for their children through alleged visa fraud and deceptive practices.

The Austin Democrat, who won his party’s nomination in March, led Cornyn and Paxton by margins of 3 and 5 percentage points, respectively. Both results were within the survey’s margin of error.

A trade group argued that a federal gas tax suspension would be unlikely to show up in savings for drivers and would diminish needed infrastructure revenue.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against the City of Houston over its recently passed ordinance that limits when the Houston Police Department can call U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Democrats are boasting of eye-popping fundraising hauls in some of this year's most competitive Senate contests.

The Austin Democrat’s haul is the largest-ever sum for a Senate candidate — in any state — in the first quarter of an election year.

The Republican and Democratic primary runoffs are May 26. See the full list of statewide candidates, as well as local races that will be on your ballot.

We’re committed to supporting Texans throughout the 2026 election. Share your thoughts by using the form below.

Democrats are trying to win back the Senate.

Wait times at George Bush Intercontinental Airport are expected to worsen over the weekend as agents miss a second paycheck and increasingly call in sick.

Members of Congress who typically get special accommodations at airports won’t get that same service on one major airline during the ongoing TSA partial government shutdown.

Oklahoma’s governor has appointed energy executive Alan Armstrong to fill a newly vacant U.S. Senate seat through the end of the year.

The day after the March 3 primary, President Donald Trump pledged to endorse either John Cornyn or Ken Paxton “soon,” and call on the other to drop out. He has yet to make an endorsement.

In this week's episode, we're joined by Dallas-Fort Worth radio host Mark Davis to discuss whether Donald Trump will pick a side in the GOP runoff for U.S. Senate and what impact that would have on the race.

Crockett embarked on her primary bid with a makeshift operation that lacked a campaign manager, a developed fundraising strategy and comprehensive infrastructure for a ground game.

President Donald Trump, who was neutral in the first round, said he would endorse “soon” in the runoff between Paxton and GOP incumbent John Cornyn and would expect the candidate he did not endorse to drop out.

Turnout in the Democratic primary outpaced that on the Republican side for the first time since 2020, a notable distinction given the draw of high-profile Senate primaries in both parties.

The president could scramble the traditional assumptions about a runoff if he carries out his promise to make an endorsement “soon” and urge whoever he snubs to drop out.

The president also said he would call on whomever he does not endorse to drop out of the race — though he did not specify whether he would back Cornyn or Paxton.

The former vice president previously endorsed U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the Democratic primary, but has since called for the party to unite behind Talarico.

The two appear headed for a May runoff, with U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt trailing in a distant third.

The Austin Democrat’s win comes after a bitter primary that focused on which candidate’s political and electoral strategy would get the party’s first statewide victory in over 30 years.

Follow The Texas Tribune’s coverage of election results for the 2026 primaries for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, the Texas Legislature and more.

This Tuesday, Tribune reporters are watching two blockbuster Senate primaries, an open attorney general seat, and more high-stakes, competitive races up and down the Texas ballot.

Former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and ex-Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley have won their respective party nominations for a North Carolina U.S. Senate seat.

Primary elections set up major Senate fights in Texas and North Carolina, and they also expose fresh tension over voting rules.

Texas voters head to the polls in one of the most expensive Senate primaries in state history — a race analysts say could impact control of the U.S. Senate.

A super PAC supporting James Talarico is running ads online warning that the GOP is “boosting” Jasmine Crockett. Her spokesperson said Republicans “who underestimate her do so at their own peril.”

Maine Democrat Graham Platner has picked up another endorsement in his bid to flip a key Senate seat blue.

North Carolina voters will narrow down the field of candidates Tuesday in a competitive U.S. Senate race that could decide control of the closely divided chamber in November.

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.

Jasmine Crockett and James Talarico face off in the state’s first blockbuster Democratic primary in decades. The race will likely conclude Tuesday, with the outside chance of a runoff.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt are competing to be the Republican nominee come November, with stakes that will be felt across Texas and in Washington.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris has endorsed Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett in Texas’ Democratic Senate primary, giving Crockett a big boost as she faces concerns about electability.

After Sen. John Cornyn began running an ad about Paxton’s alleged infidelity, he countered with a spot featuring his daughter, who also penned an op-ed citing her father’s “genuine love for his family.”

In the Senate Democratic primary, Talarico has made his church’s ethos of compassion central to his campaign, while Jasmine Crockett is tapping into the civic power of Black churches.

Texas voters will head to the polls on March 3 to decide which Republican and Democratic candidates will advance in one of the state’s most closely watched races, the 2026 U.S. Senate.

The latest campaign finance reports show big-money interests are heavily invested in the Texas primaries — but unwilling to reveal their identities at a critical juncture of the race.

Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas is urging supporters to look at experience in a heated U.S. Senate primary with state Rep. James Talarico as he rides on wider attention thanks to late-night host Stephen Colbert.

The late-night host said the network feared running afoul of new FCC guidance directing shows to give equal airtime to political candidates.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is stepping up his race for the U.S. Senate with early voting about to begin for the March 3 GOP primary.

Jasmine Crockett has built enormous enthusiasm among Black voters based in part on her reputation as a fighter, while her opponent in the Texas primary, James Talarico, has struggled to win their support.

Talarico’s haul, announced days before early voting, already outpaces what he raised over the last three months of last year.

Maine’s Republican Sen. Susan Collins has announced her reelection bid, entering a closely watched race that Democrats have targeted in their effort to retake the Senate majority in Congress in this year’s midterm elections.

A new statewide poll from the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs shows key leaders emerging in both the Republican and Democratic races for the 2026 U.S. Senate primaries in Texas, just over a week before early voting begins.

The survey findings released Monday come just eight days before the start of early voting.

The near-constant stream of takes from content creators has come to frame the primary between Jasmine Crockett and James Talarico as a referendum on identity politics in the Democratic Party.

Crockett raised about $2 million between her Dec. 8 campaign launch and year’s end, about one-third of Talarico’s haul over the first three weeks of his Senate bid.

Despite dominating the airwaves, Texas’ senior senator has been neck and neck with Attorney General Ken Paxton in public polling, both falling well short of the support needed to avoid a runoff.

After coming under fire for some earlier comments about Latinos, Crockett is working to narrow Democratic rival James Talarico’s lead among the key voting bloc.

The survey of likely Democratic voters suggests the March 3 primary is a toss-up less than three weeks out from early voting.

In a story published Jan. 24, 2026, about a debate for the U.S. Senate in Texas, The Associated Press erroneously reported the date that a man was fatally shot in Minneapolis by federal officers.

Saturday’s debate, hosted by the Texas AFL-CIO, gives voters their first side-by-side glimpse of the candidates’ contrasting styles and proposals ahead of the March 3 primary.

The Houston Republican, who has missed 44 of 48 votes this month, said such absences are typical for those seeking higher office. Rep. Chip Roy, a candidate for Texas attorney general, has not missed any votes in 2026.

The spot, which describes the Austin Democrat’s work on education issues in the Legislature, will air this week in nearly a dozen of the state’s largest media markets.

The two Republicans are competing in a heated primary. Cornyn accused Paxton of abusing his office and legal experts said the AG’s legal opinion is not binding.

Talarico’s two years as a public school teacher is central to his Democratic Senate campaign after shaping his policy goals and driving his political rise through the Texas House.

Texas’ Senate Republican primary, meanwhile, looks headed for a runoff. The survey found U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in a dead heat against Attorney General Ken Paxton, with neither eclipsing 30%.

Wisconsin Democrats are hoping to flip majority control of the Legislature and retain the governor's seat this year.

The Republican U.S. senator praised Trump’s border initiatives and said fully securing the border should take priority over changing immigration law.

The primary will take place on March 3. See the full list of statewide candidates, as well as who will be on your ballot.

The Democratic Senate hopeful’s campaign said virtually all the donations, 98%, were for $100 or less. Candidates must file updates by the end of the month.

The Texas Tribune’s politics team has compiled five of the top stories we're watching this year, when voters will have their first chance to make their opinions known on the events of 2025.

The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina has achieved federal recognition as a tribal nation by attaching it to a defense bill passed by Congress.

Crockett had higher name recognition and an overwhelming edge among Black voters, while Talarico kept her margin to single digits through greater support among white and Latino voters.

Democrats Jasmine Crockett and James Talarico have kicked off their Texas Senate campaigns with contrasting strategies.

Some Democrats dismissed the Dallas congresswoman as too polarizing to capture the swing voters needed to win. Others said her turnout-over-persuasion approach is the recipe to break through.

Crockett, a second-term congresswoman, has skyrocketed to fame through viral spats with Republicans, becoming one of her party’s most prolific fundraisers.

President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, Alina Habba, announced her resignation as acting U.S. attorney in New Jersey.

The former Dallas congressman said he wanted to help his party avoid a runoff. In his campaign to return to the House, he will face U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson, his successor in Congress.

The Dallas congresswoman said she discussed polling with Colin Allred and James Talarico.

A federal appeals court has paused a California law that requires companies that do business in the state and make more than $500 million a year to report how climate change could hurt them financially.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has set the date for the runoff election for Texas 18th Congressional District.

The Democratic U.S. senator from California sits down with journalist Terry Moran at 2:15 p.m. Saturday.

Allred’s comments at The Texas Tribune Festival marked the first time either leading Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate publicly criticized the other.

The San Antonio Democrat said at The Texas Tribune Festival that he hoped to form a statewide slate with Colin Allred, Beto O’Rourke and James Talarico, but the group couldn’t find consensus.

A federal spending bill could ban many THC-containing hemp products nationwide. Texas store owners warn the move would devastate businesses and families who rely on these products for health and income.

Longtime thoroughbred trainer Dale Romans has entered the Kentucky campaign to succeed retiring Republican Mitch McConnell in the U.S. Senate.

The Supreme Court has extended an order blocking full SNAP payments.

If approved by the House, the agreement would fund the government through the end of January, with certain agencies funded through September, including those that provide food assistance.

The deal cut by some Senate Democrats to reopen government has refueled the party’s tussle over strategy and identity just days after sweeping election victories had raised hopes that the left’s disparate factions were pulling in the same direction heading into the 2026 midterms.

The president has sharpened his calls for Senate Republicans to kill the longstanding legislative maneuver, saying the GOP’s electoral success could hinge on it.

The second-term congressman argued that voters should “hear directly from the candidates,” beyond the millions already being poured into paid advertising.

New Hampshire Republican John E.

Matthew and Eleanor are joined by Tribune D.C. reporter Gabby Birenbaum and radio host Chad Hasty to unpack the three candidates vying to be the Republican nominee for Senate in 2026.

The two leading Senate Democratic candidates have made it a point to spend time along the border early in the cycle, a sign of the region’s importance in 2026.