Signs are displayed outside of a voting center during primary election runoff day at Oak Lawn Library on Tuesday, May 26, 2026 in Dallas.
Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News
Voters will settle key runoffs in Texas Tuesday as Republicans and Democrats cast ballots in congressional, statewide and county races, including a closely watched showdown for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination.
Winners will advance to November’s general election, which could reshape power and elevate the next generation of leaders in Texas politics.
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Voters walk out of a voting center during primary election runoff day at University Park United Methodist Church on Tuesday, May 26, 2026.
Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News
Voters walk out of a voting center during primary election runoff day at University Park United Methodist Church on Tuesday, May 26, 2026.
Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News
The races include a closely watched battle for the Republican Senate nomination between Attorney General Ken Paxton and Sen. John Cornyn, runoffs in both parties for attorney general and in the North Texas Democratic congressional runoff, U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson is facing a challenge from former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred.
Polls closed at 7 p.m. and election results are posted live at dallasnews.com.
Here are live updates as votes are counted.
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Texas Republicans on Tuesday chose Attorney General Ken Paxton’s hard-charging MAGA style over Sen. John Cornyn’s seasoned establishment conservatism after one of the state’s most bruising races in years.
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About an hour after polls closed, the Paxton watch party in Plano exploded with applause and whistles as the senate race was called in his favor.
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A DJ raised the volume on the music, blaring Van Halen’s “Jump,” as a few people began dancing and spinning. Paxton supporters walked onto stage, where he’s expected to speak soon.
Vicki Knutson, a Plano resident dressed in an America flag dress and patriotic, sparkly visor, was among those dancing and hugging most everyone who passed her.
“Oh my gosh, I’m just so excited,” she yelled over the music, raising her hands in the air. “Ken Paxton is the No. 1 attorney general in the nation and he’s going to be in D.C. and he’s going to get people in line.”
Democratic Attorney General of Texas candidate Nathan Johnson (facing) receives a congratulatory hug from William Moore during a runoff watch party at Times Ten Cellars in Dallas, May 26, 2026. Johnson is running against Joe Jaworski.
Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News
Allred had an early lead over incumbent Johnson in Tuesday’s runoff for a newly drawn North Texas district, capping a race that has turned the onetime Democratic allies against each other.
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At a watch party in East Dallas, Allred supporters gathered around pizza boxes and bottles of wine as the polls closed. Allred staffers gave each other thumbs up as a newscast showed Allred ahead from early returns.
Just after 7 p.m., Nathan Johnson and Julie Johnson supports packed into an event space near the Lakewood area.
Carol Williams, among those waiting to see how the night would turn out, is appreciative of Johnson as a person.
“She works hard,” Williams said. “She focuses on affordability, on housing and health care.”
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Nathan Johnson walked in to applause about 7:45 p.m. He said while the results weren’t officially in, “it’s looking pretty good.”
“I’m feeling very good about this election,” he said, thanking his supporters. “We’re about to learn something tonight, and that is we have another election to win, and that is in November.”
— Aria Jones, Chase Rogers and Everton Bailey Jr.
Supporters of U.S. House Texas District 32-D Julie Johnson, Carol Williams (right) and Anne Marcom watch the early returns come in during a runoff watch party at Times Ten Cellars in Dallas, May 26, 2026. Johnson is in a runoff election with Colin Allred.
Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News
In a marquee U.S. Senate runoff, Cornyn and Paxton faced off in one of the state’s most contentious campaigns. Paxton advanced to face Democrat James Talarico in November.
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The GOP battle was top of mind at polls across Dallas County. At Irving City Hall Tuesday, John Callaway climbed the steps to vote, but made a few stops before the ballot box. First he had to hand out peppermint candies to his fellow voters and the election clerks working inside.
As a Republican, Callaway said he cast his vote with his nose plugged in the runoff for U.S. Senate.
“I chose the least narcissistic,” he said, while politely declining to name who got his vote.
Bryan Auston, 62, said his decisions weren’t exactly easy on Tuesday, either, but ultimately cast a ballot for Paxton. He said his priority was supporting candidates who are strongest on gun rights.
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“If you don’t vote you don’t have an argument,” he said.
Volunteers wave signs outside of Fretz Park library during primary election runoff day, on Tuesday, May 26, 2026.
Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News
At Fretz Park Branch Library in Far North Dallas, Jerry Bissey, 76, cast a ballot for Cornyn.
The decision was tough for Bissey, who said he liked that Paxton’s policy positions were more conservative than Cornyn’s.
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“He doesn’t side with Trump nearly enough,” Bissey said of Cornyn.
His choice ultimately came down to the corruption allegations against Paxton and the attorney general’s 2023 impeachment.
— Tracey McManus and Angela Mathew
President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Paxton scrambled the final days of Texas’ Republican Senate runoff. Some allies of the attorney general acted as if the endorsement decided the race in Paxton’s favor, while others warned it should not be mistaken for actual votes.
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Cornyn, meanwhile, vowed to press on, arguing Texans alone would decide the race. Both sides tried to maximize turnout after Trump’s late intervention.
State Sen. Angela Paxton urged Republicans to vote in Tuesday’s runoff but stopped short of endorsing anyone in the Senate race featuring the attorney general, her estranged husband. Angela Paxton has filed for divorce from Ken Paxton, accusing him of adultery.
Former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred and incumbent U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson’s intraparty fight — one of the most closely watched this cycle — for the Dallas-based District 33 stems from a Republican-led redrawing of Texas’ congressional map aimed at maintaining the party’s narrow majority in Washington.
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Volunteers wave signs outside of Fretz Park library during primary election runoff day, on Tuesday, May 26, 2026.
Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News
The contest could also change the Democratic lineup in Washington, either unseating Johnson after one term or keeping out Allred, the former three-term congressman who vacated the seat and lost a 2024 bid for the Senate.
The district strongly favors Democrats, with the winner all but assured of capturing the congressional seat. Allred finished first in the March primary but fell short of the votes needed to win outright.
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Voting unfolded slowly but smoothly in Dallas County’s runoff on Tuesday, a change from the chaos that took place during the March 3 primary election. After the county Republican Party forced a switch to precinct-based voting, thousands of confused voters from both parties, accustomed to the vote-anywhere system, were turned away from polls and redirected to their neighborhood voting sites.
But Tuesday, a slow stream of voters trickled into The Father’s Church on Abrams Road and all was calm.
“It’s been quiet, thank goodness,” said Republican election Judge Lila Farmer.
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Citing a fear of being sued for voter disenfranchisement, former GOP Chair Allen West then amended the party’s contract to return to countywide voting for the runoff where residents can cast a ballot at any vote center regardless of address.
This story is developing and will be updated.
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Staff writers Karen Brooks Harper and Aarón Torres contributed to this report.