Republican race for US Senate in Texas headed to runoff

By
Published  March 3, 2026 10:57pm EST
FOX 7 Austin
Loading Video…

This browser does not support the Video element.

The Brief

    • Republicans chose their candidates for a special runoff election in May.
    • Incumbent John Cornyn and Texas AG Ken Paxton will face off to decide the nominee.
    • The new race is a result of no candidate getting 50% of the vote in the primary.

AUSTIN, Texas - The Republican Senate primary will head to a runoff after no candidate received more than half of the vote.

U.S. Senate results in Texas

Republican voters will head back to the polls in a few weeks to decide between Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. 

In Texas, if a candidate fails to reach 50% plus one vote in an election, then the top two vote-getters head to a runoff. Runoffs for the primary elections will be on May 26.

Who got the votes?

By the numbers:

Paxton received around 40.5% of the vote with votes, while Cornyn brought in 43% of the vote with voters.

Early voting for the May 26 runoff election runs from May 18 through May 22.

The winner of the May runoff will face the Democratic nominee, who has yet to be decided.

The Texas Senate primaries are the most expensive senate primaries in U.S. History with more than $110 million spent on advertising.

The Source: Information in this article comes from the Associated Press and previous FOX Local reporting.

NewsElection