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TheTXLoop anchors Myra Arthur and Ernie Zuniga will be live on election night Tuesday, covering key primary runoff races. The livestream will take place at 7:30 p.m. on TheTXLoop Plus and YouTube.
Voters in Texas will be making some big decisions in some closely watched races in the May 26 runoff election, deciding who will be the Republican nominee to face Democrat James Talarico for the United States Senate. They will also determine who the nominees will be in both parties, battling it out for a newly drawn United States congressional district.
Incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn was already in a pitched battle for political life, heading into a runoff with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. In the view of many, that fight got much more difficult on May 19 when President Donald Trump gave his highly coveted endorsement to Paxton.
Cornyn narrowly beat Paxton by a single percentage point in the March primary election, 42% to 41%. But Cornyn did not get the necessary 50% plus one needed to win the nomination outright. Since then, both men had been hoping to get the endorsement of the president to help them secure victory in the runoff.
But that endorsement did not come until one week before election day, despite the efforts of both candidates to get the presidential thumb on the scale.
The long-time senator, first elected in 2002, has gone to great lengths to highlight his efforts to support Trump’s agenda. Recently, he reintroduced a bill to create Interstate 47 in honor of the president. It didn’t work. Trump went with his long-time MAGA ally Paxton.
Whoever wins on May 26, Republicans hope conservative voters coalesce behind the nominee and show up at the polls in November to defeat Talarico, who won his primary outright in March. No Democrat has won statewide office in Texas in more than 30 years. And Republicans are hoping that streak continues in 2026.
The newly drawn U.S. Congressional District 35 is still waiting on the candidates who will vie for the seat in November. Greg Casar, who represents the current version of the district, was drawn out of it when the Texas Legislature redrew the congressional map last year in a special session. He will seek re-election in District 37, which is represented by long-time lawmaker Lloyd Doggett, who is retiring.
Republicans John Lujan and Carlos De La Cruz are the top two vote-getters among 11 candidates hoping to appear on the ballot. Lujan, the state representative for District 118, got the most votes with 33%. De La Cruz, retired Air Force veteran and Trump endorsee, brought in 27% of the vote. Gov. Greg Abbott gave his endorsement to Lujan.
On the blue side, housing advocate and therapist Maureen Galindo was the top vote-getter with 29%. Veteran Bexar County Sheriff’s Office deputy Johnny Garcia came in second with 27%. This race has received a lot more attention in the last couple of weeks, as many Democrats, from Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to Senate nominee James Talarico, have condemned a series of antisemitic comments from Galindo. Garcia himself has denounced the comments, and the two have sparred over allegations of antisemitism.
Election day is May 26. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.
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