5 Takeaways From the March 3 Primary Elections

On March 3, voters went to the polls for the first primary elections of the 2026 midterm election cycle.

The elections in Texas and North Carolina had the highest stakes for the control of Congress in 2027.

Though most of the results aligned with expectations ahead of the election, the night saw at least one major electoral surprise.

Here are the things to know about the primaries.

Texas: Cornyn and Paxton Head to Runoff

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will advance to a runoff in the Texas Republican Senate primary race, after neither candidate managed to achieve 50 percent of the vote.

The Associated Press called the race around 10:50 p.m. ET on March 3, with 60 percent of the vote counted. The runoff will be held on May 26.

A third hopeful, Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas), claimed 12.9 percent, knocking him out of contention.

At his election night party in Dallas, Paxton compared himself to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Cruz finished second in the 2012 Republican Senate primary before winning the runoff against Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst.

“The same thing is going to happen here,” he predicted.

Republican spending was dominated by almost $70 million in support of Cornyn, a former member of Senate leadership who has been in the chamber for over two decades.

Texas: Talarico Defeats Crockett
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