Texas primary races to watch Tuesday night

DALLAS - Primary election day in Texas is Tuesday with voters headed to the polls to determine the Democratic and Republican candidates for the November general election.

Voters will choose several federal, state and local offices this election.

Here are some of the key races across the state to keep an eye on Tuesday night.

Statewide races

United States Senate

Democrats and Republicans find themselves in contentious races for their party's nomination for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. John Cornyn. The primary is the most expensive U.S. Senate primary in history, with political advertising spend topping $128 million, according to AdImpact.

On the Republican side, Cornyn faces a challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt. 

 Polls show the race is neck and neck between Cornyn and Paxton and the race is could end up in a May runoff election between the top two votegetters Tuesday night.

On the Democrat side, state Rep. James Talarico and Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett have flip-flopped the lead in the race depending on when a poll is released.

Democratic voters have shown up for early voting during the primaries, outpacing their Republican counterparts.

Regardless of which candidate earns the nomination Tuesday night, Democratic voters are wondering if the winning candidate can become the first Democrat to win a statewide election in Texas since 1998.

Republican attorney general race

In the race to replace Paxton as the state's attorney general, the Republican race is another that has the potential to head toa  runoff.

Polls show Rep. Chip Roy with a lead over state Sen. Mayes Middleton, state Sen. Joan Huffman and Aaron Reitz, a former assistant AG for the U.S. DOJ's Office of Legal Policy.

Republican comptroller race

The race to control the state's money is packed on the Republican side.

Former state Sen. Don Huffines was leading the race in recent polls, followed by Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick and acting comptroller Kelly Hancock. Hancock has the endorsement of Gov. Greg Abbott.

Republican agriculture commissioner race

Another Republican primary for state office that's been highly publicized is the race for agriculture commissioner.

Current commissioner Sid Miller is leading in the polls as he seeks reelection, but is facing a challenge from Texas honey farmer Nate Sheets.

Texas Congressional seats up for grabs

All 38 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives will be up for grabs in November and several potential candidates find themselves in heated contests for their party's nomination.

Several Texas representatives are retiring at the end of their term and others are leaving to pursue other offices. The uncertainty in those districts combined with a rare mid-decade redistricting have left doors open as Republicans look to add to their shallow majority in Washington.

Dallas-area seats

• Texas' 30th Congressional District was held by Crockett until she decided to seek the Democratic nomination for Senate. Multiple candidates are competing on both sides for this seat. The district covers areas in South Dallas.
• In North Dallas, the 32nd Congressional District was one of the redrawn districts. Formerly a Democratic stronghold in the Dallas suburbs, it now covers parts of more conservative East Texas. The district is currently held by Julie Johnson, however, she was drawn out of the district, so a new person will represent this district in January. On the Republican side of the primaries, Ryan Binkley, who ran for president in 2024, and Darrell Day, who lost to Johnson in 2024, are a couple of the names vying for the nomination.
• Johnson will seek the Democratic nomination in Texas' 33rd Congressional District. She faces a primary challenge from Colin Allred, a former Congressman who held Johnson's current seat before running for Senate in 2024.

Houston-area seats

• In the 2nd Congressional District, incumbent Rep. Dan Crenshaw is facing a primary challenge from state Rep. Steve Toth. Neither candidate got an endorsement from President Donald Trump last week when he was in town and fired off a flurry of endorsements. Crenshaw was the only incumbent representative that did not receive the president's endorsement.
• Morgan Luttrell is not seeking reelection in Texas' 8th congressional district. On the Republican side, Jessica Steinmann was endorsed by Trump.
• Texas' 9th Congressional District is another seat that was subject to redistricting. Held by Rep. Al Green, he was redistricted out of the seat and is running in the 18th district. Todd Ivey is leading in fundraising for the Democrats in the district. On the Republican side, Alex Mealer was endorsed by Trump last week.
• Redistricting brought a logjam to Texas' 18th congressional district. Held by Christian Menafee after a special election to replace the late Sylvester Turner, Menafee faces Democratic challenges from Green and Amanda Edwards, who Menafee defeated in a runoff to claim the seat in January.
• Tony Nehls announced he will not seek reelection in Texas 22. His brother, Trever Nehls, announced he would seek the Republican nomination instead.
• Texas 38 is another Republican-held district that will look for a new representative. Currently held by Hunt, 10 Republicans are vying for the party's nomination Tuesday night.

Austin-area seats

• Texas' 10th Congressional district will have a new representative after Michael McCaul announced he would not seek reelection. The district stretches between Austin and Houston. During redistricting, it went from a district that voted for Trump +25 to +23. 
• Texas 21 is another seat that's open after Roy decided to run for attorney general. On the Republican side, former MLB star Mark Teixeira is looking for the party's nomination.
• The Republican primary in the 21st district is another race to watch. Rep. John Carter is seeking to hold a seat that he's held for decades, but he's facing a primary challenge from Offer Vince Shalomi, the ShamWow guy; Valentina Noriega; and Abhiram Garapati.

Other Congressional races in the state

• In San Antonio, Tony Gonzales is facing a challenge for the Republican nomination in the 23rd Congressional District. Gonzales is being challenged by Brandon Herrera, who pushed the congressman into a runoff in 2024. Gonzales is also facing pressure from within his own party to resign after text messages were uncovered showing he had an affair with an ex-staffer.
• Republican Maya Flores is looking to earn her party's nomination in the 34th Congressional District. Flores, who won a special election for the seat in 2022 was defeated by Democrat Vincente Gonzalez, who currently holds the seat. The district was redrawn to be more favorable to Republicans and Flores is facing a primary challenge from Eric Flores, who has the backing of Trump.

Polls are open across the state from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Once the polls close for the day, official counts will begin to decide winners.

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