{"id":2570498,"date":"2026-02-17T06:31:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T11:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-opens-early-voting-for-competitive-primary-races\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T06:34:05","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T11:34:05","slug":"texas-opens-early-voting-for-competitive-primary-races","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-opens-early-voting-for-competitive-primary-races\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas opens early voting for competitive primary races"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftexas-opens-early-voting-for-competitive-primary-races%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2570498&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Texas has begun its 2026 early voting as <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >voters face competitive primary races<\/a>, especially for the U.S.Senate seat held by John Cornyn. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/two-house-republicans-face-potential-defeat-under-redrawn-maps-in-maryland-new-mexico\/\" title=\"Two House ...ublicans Face Potential Defeat Under Redrawn Maps In Maryland, New Mexico\">redrawn map<\/a>, backed by Trump, has created about 30 Republican-leaning congressional districts and only eight democratic-leaning ones, signaling a GOP edge in the midterm contests. Early voting runs from February 17 to March 3, with Election Day on March 3, and the possibility of runoffs in some races, including the Senate contest if no candidate clears the threshold.<\/p>\n<p>In the Senate race, Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt are challenging Cornyn, while Democrats James Talarico and Jasmine Crockett vie to flip the seat. Paxton is positioning himself as the far-right alternative to Cornyn, and Hunt aims to present a different option, with the race expected to be costly and potentially headed to a runoff on May 26 if no candidate wins outright. On the Democratic side,Talarico,a seminary student and former teacher with a large TikTok following,and Crockett,a rising state representative,are highlighting contrasts with the GOP candidates,including attacks tied to Trump. Voters will also choose among GOP candidates for attorney general, including Chip Roy and Mayes Middleton, with democrat Nathan Johnson offering a contrast.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Texas opens early voting for competitive primary races<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2497454\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Early voting begins Tuesday for Texas&rsquo;s 2026 primary elections, with eyes on the Lone Star State&rsquo;s competitive Senate primary for the seat of longtime incumbent Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/john-cornyn\/\">John Cornyn<\/a> (R-TX ).<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/texas\/\">Texas<\/a> has candidates all across the state facing competitive primaries, especially due to the mid-decade redistricting effort backed by President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a> that catapulted redistricting across the country.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4459730\/trump-refuses-to-endorse-texas-gop-primary\/\">Trump withholds endorsement for Texas Senate GOP primary<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4458307\/hochul-has-nearly-cleared-the-field-in-her-path-to-reelection\/\">Hochul has nearly cleared the field in her path to reelection<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4456871\/karrin-taylor-robson-exits-arizona-governor-race\/\">Trump-backed candidate exits Arizona governor race, setting up battle between two GOP reps<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Texas&rsquo;s redistricted map creates 30 Republican-friendly congressional seats, compared to just eight districts favoring Democrats, resulting in a five-seat boost for the GOP from its current 25-13 advantage.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/4456727\/munich-security-conference-early-stage-2028-democrats\/\"><strong>MUNICH SUMMIT BECOMES EARLY STAGE FOR 2028 DEMOCRATS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Lone Star State has the first primary of the year, launching the 2026 midterm elections. Voters will head to the polls beginning Feb. 17, with Election Day set for March 3.<\/p>\n<p>The Texas Senate primary is packed as Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) aim to unseat Cornyn. The Democratic primary is also shaping up to be a tight one as Texas Rep. James Talarico and Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jasmine-crockett\/\">Jasmine Crockett <\/a>(D-TX) aim to flip the seat.<\/p>\n<p>Paxton has positioned himself as the far-right candidate, aiming to label Cornyn as a vote against the party. While Hunt has aimed to provide voters with an option that is not the longtime senator or the scandal-ridden attorney general.<\/p>\n<p>While both Hunt and Cornyn have continued to make the case against Paxton and each other, Texas will remain center stage heading into November, making for both an interesting and expensive race, with the GOP having a handful of other seats to protect. The race seems to be headed for a runoff as each of the three campaigns continues to tout different polling that leans in their favor.<\/p>\n<p>If the race goes into a runoff, the top two candidates will continue to campaign against each other until a second primary election on May 26, where the top candidate will go on to face the Democratic nominee.<\/p>\n<p>On the Democratic side, Talarico is in seminary, studying to become a pastor, and has focused much of his campaign on his faith. The 36-year-old has 1.2 million followers on <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/tiktok\/\">TikTok<\/a> and is a former sixth-grade teacher in San Antonio.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Crockett has quickly risen to fame, serving her second term in the lower chamber, as the GOP has strived to make her the face of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democratic-party\/\">Democratic Party<\/a>. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wth-8-year-old-social-media-star-dating-13-year-old-influencer-with-her-moms-blessing\/\" title=\"WTH: 8...YEAR...OLD Social Media Star \u2018Dating\u2019 13...Year...Old Influencer \u2014 With Her Mom\u2019s Blessing\">social media star<\/a> has focused much of her campaign against Trump, with her launch video being a series of insults the president has said about her.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4456839\/why-it-could-take-weeks-brunt-dhs-shutdown\/\"><strong>WHY IT COULD TAKE WEEKS TO FEEL THE BRUNT OF A DHS SHUTDOWN<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Voters in Texas will also have the opportunity to choose between Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/chip-roy\/\">Chip Roy<\/a> (R-TX), a conservative firebrand, Texas Sen. Mayes Middleton, and two other candidates in the GOP primary to be the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/no-spike-in-florida-coronavirus-cases-despite-no-mask-mandate\/\" title=\"No Spike in Florida Coronavirus Cases Despite No Mask Mandate\">state&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s next attorney general. <\/p>\n<p>Roy launched his bid last year to replace Paxton as attorney general, telling the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> earlier this year that he wants to bring the fight back to Texas. Democrats also have a few candidates running to be the next attorney general, with state Sen.&nbsp;Nathan Johnson&nbsp;running against two challengers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TX primaries begin; Cornyn faces tight Senate race<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3691,"featured_media":2570499,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/MixCollage-16-Dec-2025-09-57-AM-6478.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[25322,6571,3694],"class_list":["post-2570498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-early-voting","tag-elections","tag-texas"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/MixCollage-16-Dec-2025-09-57-AM-6478.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2570498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3691"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2570498"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2570498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2570502,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2570498\/revisions\/2570502"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2570499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2570498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2570498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2570498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}