Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico answers questions from the press after early voting at Gus Garcia Recreation Center in Austin Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico answers questions from the press after early voting at Gus Garcia Recreation Center in Austin Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026.

Steve Kornacki takes stock of the Texas GOP Senate primary between John Cornyn, Ken Paxton and Wesley Hunt as early voting gets underway.

Texas Senate race heats up: Cornyn trails Paxton as $98 million+ spent, runoff looms and campaigns gear up for November showdown.

Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume said Wednesday that Republicans could hand Democrats an opening in Texas if the GOP nominates a controversial candidate. Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton emerged as the frontrunner in the three-way GOP Senate primary,

Early voting begins this week in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, one of the most expensive races in the country, as incumbent Sen. John Cornyn works to fend off two challengers: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Houston-area Congressman Wesley Hunt.

WASHINGTON — US Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) is introducing new legislation aimed at making the enforcement of Islamic Sharia Law, and discrimination based on the fundamentalist Muslim code, a violation of the Civil Rights Act — amid the ongoing controversy surrounding a proposed Muslim-centered community in the Lone Star State.