Texas voters went to the polls Tuesday for the state’s 2026 Primary Elections, selecting party nominees for federal, statewide and legislative offices ahead of the November General Election. While many contests were decided outright, several high-profile races failed to reach Texas’s 50% threshold required to secure a nomination, setting the stage for runoff elections later this spring.
Primary elections determine each party’s nominees for the general election. Under Texas law, if no candidate receives more than half of the vote, the top two finishers advance to a runoff election scheduled for May 26.
U.S. Senate Race Heads to Runoff
The most closely watched contest of the night was the race for U.S. Senate. In the Republican primary, incumbent Senator John Cornyn faced a strong challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Congressman Wesley Hunt in what has become one of the most expensive and competitive Senate primaries in the state’s history.
With most precincts reporting, Cornyn led with approximately 41.8% of the vote, closely followed by Paxton with about 40.6%. Hunt finished third with roughly 13.7%.
Because neither candidate reached the 50% threshold required to win the nomination outright, Cornyn and Paxton will advance to a runoff election on May 26.
In the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, State Representative James Talarico secured the nomination after receiving just over 52% of the vote, defeating Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett.
Statewide Offices
Several statewide races were decided outright in the primary, setting up general election matchups for November.
Governor Greg Abbott won the Republican primary comfortably and will face Democratic nominee Gina Hinojosa in the general election.
In the race for Lieutenant Governor, incumbent Dan Patrick secured the Republican nomination. On the Democratic side, Vicki Goodwin and Marcos Velez will compete in a runoff to determine who will challenge Patrick in November.
The Republican primary for Attorney General will also go to a runoff after no candidate reached the majority threshold. State Senator Mayes Middleton and Congressman Chip Roy finished as the top two candidates and will face each other in May. On the Democratic side, State Senator Nathan Johnson led the primary with 48.11% of the vote with former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski following with 26.43%.
For Texas comptroller, former State Senator Don Huffines won the Republican nomination outright and will face Democratic State Senator Sarah Eckhardt in the general election.
Incumbent Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham ran unopposed in the Republican primary. The Democratic nomination went to Bay City City Councilman Benjamin Flores, setting up a general election matchup between the two.
In the race for agriculture commissioner, Republican businessman Nate Sheets defeated incumbent Sid Miller in the primary. Sheets will face Democrat Clayton Tucker in the November election.
The Republican primary for railroad commissioner will move to a runoff between former Tarrant County GOP chairman Bo French and incumbent Jim Wright after neither candidate received more than half of the vote. State Representative Jon Rosenthal secured the Democratic nomination without opposition.
Collin County Results
Collin County voters also weighed in on a range of federal and statewide contests.
In the county’s Republican primary results for U.S. Senate, Paxton and Cornyn finished in a close contest with both candidates receiving just over 40 percent of the vote locally, mirroring the statewide trend and sending the race to a runoff.
Several incumbents received strong support in the county’s congressional districts. Representative Keith Self won the Republican primary in the 3rd Congressional District with more than 80 percent of the vote, while Representative Pat Fallon secured the Republican nomination in the 4th Congressional District with nearly 78 percent.
Most statewide races in Collin County mirrored the broader statewide outcomes, with Abbott winning the Republican primary for governor by a wide margin and other statewide candidates securing nominations outright. A handful of races, including the Republican contests for attorney general and railroad commissioner, did not produce majority winners locally, consistent with the statewide results that will send those contests to runoffs.
See individual race updates here for Collin County.
What Comes Next: May Runoff
The May 26 runoff election will determine nominees in the races where no candidate received more than 50% of the vote. Only voters who participated in a party’s primary are eligible to vote in that same party’s runoff.
Once those runoffs are completed, the nominees will advance to the November general election, where candidates from different parties will compete for federal, statewide and legislative offices across Texas.
Here is a summary of the full results from Collin County:
Republican Primary Summary
U.S.Senator | Ken Paxton 41.89%, John Cornyn 40.68%, (RUNOFF) |
U.S. Representative, District 3 | Keith Self — 80.17% |
U.S. Representative, District 4 | Pat Fallon — 80.62% |
U.S. Representative, District 32 | Jace Yarbrough 48.96%, Ryan Binkley 21.72% (RUNOFF) |
Governor | Greg Abbott — 81.76% |
Lieutenant Governor | Dan Patrick — 84.72% |
Attorney General | Mayes Middleton 39.12%, Chip Roy 31.6% (RUNOFF) |
Comptroller of Public Accounts | Don Huffines — 57.36% |
Commissioner General Land Office | Dawn Buckingham — 100.00% |
Commissioner of Agriculture | Nate Sheets — 52.66% |
Railroad Commissioner | Bo French 31.73%, Jim Wright 32.07% (RUNOFF) |
Chief Justice, Supreme Court | Jimmy Blacklock — 100.00% |
Justice, Supreme Court, Place 2, Unexpired Term | James P. Sullivan — 100.00% |
Justice, Supreme Court, Place 7 | Kyle Hawkins — 100.00% |
Justice, Supreme Court, Place 8 | Brett Busby — 100.00% |
Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 3 | Alison Fox 35.49%, Thomas Smith 33.39% (RUNOFF) |
Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 4 | Kevin Patrick Yeary — 100.00% |
Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 9 | John Messinger — 68.83% |
State Senator, District 2 | Bob Hall — 79.00% |
State Representative, District 33 | Katrina Pierson — 100.00% |
State Representative, District 61 | Keresa Richardson — 67.00% |
State Representative, District 66 | Matt Shaheen — 100.00% |
State Representative, District 67 | Jeff Leach — 64.00% |
State Representative, District 70 | George Flint — 57.00% |
State Representative, District 89 | Candy Noble — 53.00% |
Chief Justice, 15th Court of Appeals District | Scott Brister — 100.00% |
Justice, 15th Court of Appeals District, Place 2 | Scott K. Field — 100.00% |
Justice, 15th Court of Appeals District, Place 3 | April Farris — 100.00% |
Justice, 5th Court of Appeals District, Place 3 | Matthew Kolodoski — 100.00% |
Justice, 5th Court of Appeals District, Place 6 | Ben Smith — 100.00% |
Justice, 5th Court of Appeals District, Place 8 | Ashley Wysocki — 100.00% |
District Judge, 219th Judicial District | Jennifer Edgeworth — 100.00% |
District Judge, 296th Judicial District | Piper McCraw — 100.00% |
District Judge, 366th Judicial District | Tom Nowak — 100.00% |
District Judge, 417th Judicial District | Cyndi McCrann Wheless — 100.00% |
District Judge, 429th Judicial District | Jill Willis — 100.00% |
District Judge, 471st Judicial District | Bryan Gantt — 100.00% |
District Judge, 494th Judicial District | Kathryn Pruitt — 100.00% |
Criminal District Attorney Collin County | Greg Willis — 100.00% |
County Judge | Chris Hill — 78.31% |
Judge, County Court at Law No. 1 | Corinne Mason — 100.00% |
Judge, County Court at Law No. 2 | Barnett Walker — 100.00% |
Judge, County Court at Law No. 3 | Lance S. Baxter — 100.00% |
Judge, County Court at Law No. 4 | David Rippel — 100.00% |
Judge, County Court at Law No. 5 | Randy Johnson — 100.00% |
Judge, County Court at Law No. 6 | Jay A. Bender — 100.00% |
Judge, County Court at Law No. 7 | David Waddill — 100.00% |
Judge, County Probate Court | Sarah R. Duff — 100.00% |
District Clerk | Mike Gould — 100.00% |
County Clerk | Stacey Kemp — 100.00% |
County Commissioner, Precinct 2 | Michael Slaughter — 100.00% |
County Commissioner, Precinct 4 | Shelby Williams — 50.43% |
Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1 | Paul M. Raleeh — 51.33% |
Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2 | Ellen Kinnebrew — 100.00% |
Justice of the Peace, Precinct 3 | Mike Missildine — 65.52% |
Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4 | Stephen Kallas 47.28%, Randy Farrar 28.98% (RUNOFF) |
County Chair | Byron Henry — 100.00% |
Precinct Chair No. 28 | Jared Shoemaker — 60.86% |
Precinct Chair No. 44 | David Kelly — 61.02% |
Precinct Chair No. 45 | Henry Lessner — 62.82% |
Precinct Chair No. 52 | Trina Westberg — 54.87% |
Precinct Chair No. 90 | Holland Hernandez — 72.02% |
Precinct Chair No. 97 | Jessica Hulcy — 60.23% |
Precinct Chair No. 114 | Brooke Peters 48.63%, Dakota Kridler 37.09% (RUNOFF) |
Precinct Chair No. 116 | Mark Myers — 67.50% |
Precinct Chair No. 134 | Brian Fletcher — 65.59% |
Precinct Chair No. 137 | John Donovan — 67.84% |
Precinct Chair No. 140 | Jeff Hall — 73.34% |
Precinct Chair No. 154 | Keith Thomas — 78.36% |
Precinct Chair No. 166 | Michael Padilla — 56.18% |
Precinct Chair No. 203 | Danica Jones — 73.90% |
Precinct Chair No. 204 | Patti Jones — 60.61% |
Precinct Chair No. 216 | Walker Hanson 48.34%, David Dutcher, Jr 28.97% (RUNOFF) |
Precinct Chair No. 228 | Christian Rivera — 59.82% |
Precinct Chair No. 234 | Sabrina Lomonte — 74.16% |
Democratic Primary Summary
U.S. Senator | James Talarico — 52.45% |
U.S. Representative, District 3 | Evan Hunt — 100.00% |
U.S. Representative, District 4 | Jason Pearce — 51.97% |
U.S. Representative, District 32 | Dan Barrios — 60.45% |
Governor | Gina Hinojosa — 58.53% |
Lieutenant Governor | Vikki Goodwin — 48.01%, Marcos Isaias Velez – 31.49% (RUNOFF) |
Attorney General | Joe Jaworski – 26.43%, Nathan Johnson – 48.11% (RUNOFF) |
Comptroller of Public Accounts | Sarah Eckhardt — 64.08% |
Commissioner General Land Office | Benjamin Flores — 55.56% |
Commissioner of Agriculture | Clayton Tucker — 100.00% |
Railroad Commissioner | Jon Rosenthal — 100.00% |
Chief Justice, Supreme Court | Maggie Ellis — 76.34% |
Justice, Supreme Court, Place 2, Unexpired | Chari Kelly — 100.00% |
Justice, Supreme Court, Place 7 | Kristen Hawkins — 75.63% |
Justice, Supreme Court, Place 8 | Gisela D. Triana — 100.00% |
Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 3 | Okey Anyiam — 100.00% |
Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 4 | Audra Riley — 100.00% |
Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 9 | Holly Taylor — 100.00% |
State Senator, District 2 | Keenen Colbert — 100.00% |
State Representative, District 33 | Orlando Lopez — 100.00% |
State Representative, District 61 | Brittany Black — 56.00% |
State Representative, District 66 | Sandeep Srivastava — 100.00% |
State Representative, District 67 | Jordan Wheatley — 57.00% |
State Representative, District 70 | Mihaela Elizabeth Plesa — 100.00% |
State Representative, District 89 | Angie Carraway — 100.00% |
Chief Justice, 15th Court of Appeals District | Jerry Zimmerer — 100.00% |
Justice, 15th Court of Appeals District, Place 2 | Tom Baker — 100.00% |
Justice, 15th Court of Appeals District, Place 3 | Marc M. Meyer — 100.00% |
Justice, 5th Court of Appeals District, Place 3 | Amanda Reichek — 100.00% |
Justice, 5th Court of Appeals District, Place 6 | Monica Purdy — 100.00% |
Justice, 5th Court of Appeals District, Place 8 | Andrea D. Plumlee — 68.00% |
County Judge | John R. Buster Brown — 100.00% |
County Clerk | John Russell — 100.00% |
County Commissioner, Precinct 4 | Julie Holmer — 100.00% |
Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2 | Darsell E. Johnson — 100.00% |
Justice of the Peace, Precinct 3 | Irvin Lynn Barrett — 100.00% |
Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4 | Eli Worthy — 100.00% |
County Chair | Jeremy Sutka — 100.00% |
Precinct Chair No. 131 | Kelly Roberts — 88.45% |
What Voters Said on Party Propositions
In addition to choosing candidates, Texas primary voters were asked to weigh in on a series of non-binding party propositions. These ballot questions do not change state law directly but are used by political parties to measure voter opinion on policy priorities.
Republican Primary Propositions
Republican voters considered 10 advisory propositions, all of which received majority support among primary voters.
Property Tax Reform — Passed
Suggested assessing property taxes based on the original purchase price of property and ultimately eliminating property taxes.
Local Tax Increases — Passed
Proposed requiring voter approval before local governments adopt budgets that increase property taxes.
Vaccination Status and Healthcare — Passed
Suggested prohibiting healthcare providers from denying medical services solely based on a patient’s vaccination status.
School Curriculum and Start of Life — Passed
Proposed requiring public schools to teach that life begins at fertilization.
School-Based Clinics — Passed
Suggested banning gender-related or reproductive health clinics and services within K-12 public schools.
Term Limits for State Officials — Passed
Proposed establishing term limits for members of the Texas Legislature and other statewide elected officials.
Texas Water Supply — Passed
Suggested prioritizing long-term planning and funding for water infrastructure to address the state’s future water needs.
Public Services and Immigration Status — Passed
Proposed limiting certain taxpayer-funded services to individuals legally present in the U.S..
Legislative Leadership Selection — Passed
Suggested requiring leadership positions in the Texas Legislature to be chosen only by members of the same political party.
Foreign or Religious Legal Systems — Passed
Proposed prohibiting Texas courts from applying foreign laws or religious legal systems if they conflict with U.S. or Texas law.
Democratic Primary Propositions
Democratic voters considered 13 advisory propositions, all of which received majority support.
Medicaid Expansion — Passed
Called for Texas to expand Medicaid coverage to increase access to healthcare.
Public School Funding — Passed
Proposed increasing state funding for public schools and teacher pay.
Reproductive Healthcare Access — Passed
Supported protecting access to reproductive healthcare services.
Voting Access — Passed
Suggested expanding early voting opportunities and access to mail-in ballots.
Criminal Justice Reform — Passed
Proposed reforms aimed at reducing incarceration for non-violent offenses and expanding rehabilitation programs.
Marijuana Policy — Passed
Supported legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana for adult use.
Gun Safety Measures — Passed
Proposed strengthening background checks and other firearm safety policies.
Clean Energy Development — Passed
Suggested increased investment in renewable energy and modernization of the electric grid.
Affordable Housing — Passed
Proposed expanding state support for affordable housing development.
Worker Protections — Passed
Suggested strengthening labor protections and increasing minimum wage standards.
Immigration Policy — Passed
Supported policies providing potential pathways to legal status for certain undocumented residents.
Higher Education Affordability — Passed
Proposed reducing college costs and increasing funding for public universities.
Extreme Risk Protection Orders — Passed
Suggested allowing courts to temporarily restrict firearm purchases for individuals with documented histories of domestic abuse.
Note: Party propositions are advisory and do not directly change state law. They are used to measure voter sentiment and guide future legislative priorities.