Texas held its 2026 primary elections Tuesday, and by nightfall, the results were already complicated — not just by the candidates, but by the chaos at the polls themselves.
Voting locations across the state opened at 7 a.m. and closed at 7 p.m. on March 3, as Texans in both parties cast ballots to determine who would carry their standard into November’s general election. But the night quickly became as much about voting access as it was about vote counts — particularly in Dallas County, where a tangle of logistical failures, legal battles, and accusations of suppression overshadowed some of the most closely watched races in the country.
A Record-Breaking Senate Primary — And a Race Still Too Close to Call
The Republican U.S. Senate primary alone made history before a single ballot was cast. Advertising spend in the race exceeded $110 million as of the week before the election, making it the most expensive Senate primary in U.S. history. That figure reflects just how much is at stake — and how many powerful interests are watching.
At the center of it all is Sen. John Cornyn, who has held his seat since 2002 and is fighting for a fifth consecutive term. His challengers are no slouches. Attorney General Ken Paxton and Houston Congressman Wesley Hunt have mounted aggressive campaigns, forcing Cornyn into an unexpectedly bruising primary fight. As of 8 p.m. Tuesday, Cornyn appeared to be holding on — but the night was far from over.
On the Democratic side, the Senate race drew just as much national attention. James Talarico led Jasmine Crockett with 53% of the vote as of 9 p.m., with 48% of precincts reporting. That’s the catch, though — those numbers didn’t yet include Dallas County, which happens to be Crockett’s hometown. Fox4 noted the incomplete picture, leaving the race genuinely uncertain heading into the later hours.
Gubernatorial Races Take Shape
Not everything was in suspense. Gov. Greg Abbott was already appearing bound for a fourth Republican nomination for governor by 8 p.m., a result that surprised essentially no one. The Democratic side moved quickly too — the Associated Press called the Democratic gubernatorial nomination for Gina Hinojosa at 9:30 p.m., setting up what figures to be a steep uphill climb against Abbott in the fall.
Dallas County’s Election Night Meltdown
Here’s where things got messy. Dallas County’s Democratic primary was thrown into turmoil by a combination of administrative confusion and a last-minute legal fight that reached the state’s highest court.
This year marked the first time in 15 years that Dallas County voters were required to go to party-specific polling locations — a split primary format where Republicans and Democrats held separate elections at precinct-designated sites. The shift created widespread confusion, compounded by incorrect polling location listings on the Secretary of State’s website. Voters showed up to the wrong places. Some were turned away. A Dallas County judge responded by ordering a two-hour extension of Democratic primary voting, pushing the deadline to 9 p.m.
The Texas Supreme Court blocked that order. Votes cast after 7 p.m. by anyone who wasn’t already in line would not be counted, the court ruled. Just like that, the extension was gone.
Crockett didn’t mince words. In a statement, she characterized the precinct-specific voting requirement as deliberate voter suppression, placing blame squarely on local Republican officials. “The Dallas County Republicans and Williamson County GOP chose to implement precinct-specific voting locations for election day,” she said, adding that “this effort to suppress the vote, to confuse and inconvenience voters is having its intended effect as people are being turned away from the polls.” Her campaign’s framing was pointed — and politically convenient, given that Dallas County’s results hadn’t yet been counted when she was trailing.
Still, the underlying problems were real and documented. The precinct-specific voting model is unusual enough that even seasoned voters could be tripped up, and officials’ failure to maintain accurate location data on the state website made things worse. Whether it was suppression by design or suppression by incompetence is a question that’s likely to outlast election night.
Turnout, Paper Ballots, and Long Lines
Despite the confusion, Texans turned out. About 2.5 million voters cast early ballots statewide, and Dallas County Democrats set a record with nearly 188,000 early votes. The Texas Tribune reported that overall turnout in this primary midterm was higher than in 2024 — with Democratic turnout outpacing Republican turnout, according to the Texas Secretary of State.
Elsewhere in the DFW area, voters dealt with their own Election Day quirks. Collin County made the switch from electronic voting to paper ballots for the first time in a primary election, a transition that drew attention from voters and observers alike. In Kennedale, Tarrant County, lines at select locations were averaging around 45 minutes — a surge that suggested enthusiasm, if not always smooth execution.
What Comes Next
Texas election law has a built-in safety valve for crowded primaries: if no candidate clears a majority, the top two finishers meet again in a May runoff. That possibility loomed over several races Tuesday night, particularly the Republican Senate primary, where three well-funded candidates were splitting a competitive field.
The general election in November will ultimately determine who represents Texas in Washington and in the governor’s mansion. But Tuesday’s primary — messy, expensive, legally contested, and historically significant — was a reminder that in Texas, even the warm-up act can be a main event.
For now, the count continues. And somewhere in Dallas County’s uncounted precincts, at least one Senate candidate is watching the numbers very carefully.
