Texas election results: Latest on GOP Senate race, House runoffs
Texas election results: Latest on GOP Senate race, House runoffs
Nicole Fallert, USA TODAYWed, May 27, 2026 at 11:07 AM UTC
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Texas election results: Latest on GOP Senate race, House runoffs
The most expensive Senate primary race in U.S. history has a winner.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton won the Republican Senate runoff election in Texas on Tuesday, May 26, marking a win for President Donald Trump. Paxton, who received Trump's endorsement, defeated Senator John Cornyn, a four-term lawmaker who at times has opposed Trump. For Paxton to win over the senior lawmaker's bid marks a wider move by the president to oust detractors within the GOP ahead of the November midterms.
"Now that the nominees are set, only one thing is certain, Texas is going to have a big, nasty, expensive election this year, and both national parties are likely to be spending more time, and especially, more resources, in a state where the outcome is usually pretty close to a sure thing," says Josh Blank, research director of the Texas Politics Project at University of Texas at Austin.
Here are the results from the Texas Senate and House runoff results and why they mark a major shift in Lone Star State politics.
Who won the Texas GOP runoff?
Paxton ended the day with 63.8% of the votes, with an estimated 98% of the votes counted, according to the and CNN. The winner will now face Democrat James Talarico in the November election, posing Texans with the choice between a MAGA ally and a liberal with a rising national profile.
"Democrats are going to have to face the fact that Paxton is a very capable campaigner who knows how to mobilize the Republican base," says Blank. "He just knocked off a four-term incumbent while being significantly outspent."
It will be notable to watch whether Cornyn's supporters vote for Paxton in November, Blank says. But if voters choose someone else, it could be costly for Paxton, he says.
And the springtime sprint for the nomination wasn't cheap: Over $110 million was spent on advertising, according to AdImpact. Cornyn outspent Paxton, shelling out $64 million versus $3.6 million, respectively.
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More: Trump places risky bet on Paxton over Cornyn in Texas Senate runoff
Texas House runoff results
Congressional districts across the Lone Star State held runoff elections on May 26. Here are the results, according to the and CNN. Nominees will head to the November elections to run for a spot on Capitol Hill.
Democratic congressional runoff -
District 1: Yolanda Prince (72.3% of votes) defeated Dax Alexander (27.7% of votes) with an estimated 97% of votes counted.
District 5: Chelsey Hockett (53% of votes) defeated Ruth Torres (47% of votes) with an estimated 99% of votes counted.
District 14: This race between Richard Davis and Thurman Bill Bartie has not yet been called.
District 17: Casey Shepard (59.9% of votes) defeated Milah Flores (40.1% of votes) with an estimated 97% of votes counted.
District 18: Christian D. Menefee (69.4% of votes) defeated incumbent Al Green (30.6% of votes) with an estimated 99% of votes counted.
District 24: Kevin Burge (78.1% of votes) defeated TJ Ware (21.9% of votes) with an estimated 99% of votes counted.
District 33: Colin Allred (53.9% of votes) defeated incumbent Julie Johnson (46.1% of votes) with an estimated 99% of votes counted.
District 35: Johnny Garcia (63.8% of votes) defeated Maureen Galindo (36.2% of votes) with an estimated 99% of votes counted.
Republican congressional runoff -
District 7: Alexander Hale (64.3% of votes) defeated Tina Cohen (35.7% of votes) with an estimated 72% of votes counted.
District 9: Alex Mealer (68.3% of votes) defeated Briscoe Cain (31.7% of votes) with an estimated 74% of votes counted.
District 16: Adam Bauman (68.6% of votes) defeated Manuel J. Barraza (31.4% of votes) with an estimated 99% of votes counted.
District 19: Tom Sell (64.3% of votes) defeated Abraham Enriquez (35.7% of votes) with an estimated 99% of votes counted.
District 23: Tony Gonzales vs. Brandon Herrera (Gonzales has dropped out of the race).
District 30: Everett Jackson (57.5% of votes) defeated Sholdon Daniels (42.5% of votes) with an estimated 99% of votes counted.
District 32: Ryan Binkley vs. Jace Yarbrough. (Binkley has dropped out of the race, per the Texas Tribune).
District 33: Patrick David Gillespie (57.1% of votes) defeated John Sims (42.9% of votes) with an estimated 99% of votes counted.
District 35: Carlos De La Cruz (57.6% of votes) defeated John Lujan (42.4% of votes) with an estimated 99% of votes counted.
District 37: Lauren B. Peña (58.2% of votes) defeated Ge’Nell Gary (41.8% of votes) with an estimated 99% of votes counted.
District 38: Jon Bonck (64.8% of votes) defeated Shelly deZevallos (35.3% of votes) with an estimated 98% of votes counted.
The 'end of an era' in Texas
Although Paxton and other names were on ballots, the real winner of Tuesday's race is Trump, according Blake Farrar, associate professor of political science at Texas State University.
"Trump’s influence over Republican voters is still strong in Texas and the MAGA wing of the party won a major battle," Farrar says. "It definitely feels like the end of an era in Texas politics."
Another Texas incumbent who fell in Tuesday was Democratic Rep. Al Green, who lost in the House runoff in District 18 to Christian Menefee. Green has served in the U.S. House since 2021.
"Texas has lost two long time heavy weights and decades of seniority in Washington," Farrar says.
Contributing: Philip Bailey
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: See Texas election results for Paxton vs. Cornyn, other House runoffs
Source: “AOL Breaking”
