Dem
47
GOP
53
Wesley Hunt, who represents an R+10 district in the West Houston suburbs, has jumped into the already messy Republican Senate primary in Texas. We have no idea what he has been smoking, but if he thinks he can win a Senate race in Texas, it must be strong stuff. The last time Texas had a Black senator was... well, never. Nevertheless, his entry into the already nasty primary between Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Texas AG Ken Paxton (R) could be significant.
Here's the problem: There are some voters who don't like Cornyn very much and think Paxton is crazy, so they are looking for a way to send them both a message. That way could be voting for Hunt. A recent three-way poll had Cornyn at 32%, Paxton at 31%, and Hunt at 17%. Assuming the remaining 20% splits over the three candidates and no one gets all of it, no candidate will hit the 50% mark in the March 3, 2026, primary. That means there will be a runoff in May. As a consequence, the top two candidates, Cornyn and Paxton, will be shooting at each other harder and more directly for an extra two months. A bitter ideological and personal fight for 2 months can't help the party much.
On the Democratic side there are only two serious candidates, Colin Allred, who lost to Ted Cruz last time, and James Talarico, a state representative. Former astronaut Terry Virts is also running, but seems less likely to get enough support to force a runoff on the Democratic side. If either Allred or Talarico wins outright in March while the Republicans are still slinging mud at each other, that gives the winner more time to campaign for the general election and raise general-election money. (V)