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Texas Democratic Senate Candidate James Talarico speaks at a May 27 rally in Houston. Talarico held the rally after the primary runoff and to explain his plan on how he will take on Republican nominee Ken Paxton. (Danielle Villasana / Getty Images)
May 28, 2026 at 11:38am
It’s taken a while, but after Tuesday’s runoff, the field for the Texas Senate showdown is set, and neither candidate is incumbent Sen. John Cornyn.
We’ve long known that Talarico was going to be the Democratic nominee, with the state representative and (as he’s invariably described in the innumerable puff pieces about his candidacy) “Presbyterian seminarian” clearing 50 percent in the initial round in March over his only serious opponent, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett.
However, neither Cornyn nor Ken Paxton, the state’s longtime attorney general, managed to clear 50 percent, and Cornyn looked stronger than many had expected in the first round, given that conservatives had soured on him. He was briefly the favorite to win a runoff, but that momentum quickly evaporated, and Paxton again regained front-runner status. An endorsement by Donald Trump sealed the deal, and his 63.8-36.2 percent victory over Cornyn on Tuesday was even greater than even the most pro-Paxton pundit would have predicted.
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