RESULTS | 2026 Texas Primaries: GOP races for AG, Senate heading to runoff

AUSTIN, Texas - Election Day in Texas was March 3 and multiple races are heading for a runoff, including the GOP races for Texas Attorney General and U.S. Senate.

Voters have also set the race for Texas governor for the fall, picking Austin Democrat Gina Hinojosa to face off against incumbent Republican Greg Abbott, who is seeking a fourth term.

Live coverage has concluded. Get the latest Texas results from the Texas Secretary of State's website.

10:53 p.m.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton spoke after it was projected that he would face Sen. John Cornyn in a runoff election in May.

FOX 4's David Sentendry is in Dallas at Paxton's watch party.

10:48 p.m.

Sen. John Cornyn and Ken Paxton are heading to a runoff election for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate. 

FOX 7 Austin's Meredith Aldis gives an update.

10:45 p.m.

We're taking a look at some of the other high profile primary races around Texas.

FOX 7 Austin's Mike Warren, Rudy Koski, and Alec Nolan have the latest.

10:32 p.m.

Democrats tried to stop a mid-decade redistricting effort, but were unsuccessful. Now, we are starting to see some of the candidates emerging in those newly drawn districts. 

FOX 7 Austin's Rudy Koski gives a full breakdown.

10:25 p.m.

Travis County has released its first round of unofficial Election Day results.

10:20 p.m.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will face Sen. John Cornyn in a runoff election in May. 

Paxton spoke at his watch party in Dallas.

10:18 p.m.

We're continuing our special coverage of the 2026 Texas Primaries. 

FOX 7 Austin's Meredith Aldis is at John Cornyn's watch party.

10:06 p.m.

U.S. Rep Wesley Hunt spoke to his supporters after he lost his bid for U.S. Senate.

His opponents, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, are heading to a runoff election.

Cornyn gave remarks Tuesday night, saying he's ready for the fight against Paxton in May.

9:50 p.m.

The AP is projecting runoffs in two Republican races:

• Texas AG between Mayes Middleton and Chip Roy
• Senate between Ken Paxton and John Cornyn

9:31 p.m.

Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett expressed her disappointment in the ruling over Dallas County voting hours. 

9:29 p.m.

The Associated Press is projecting Gina Hinojosa as the Democratic nominee for governor.

The latest results from the Texas Secretary of State's office show Hinojosa sitting at almost 59% of the vote. 

9:19 p.m.

Gina Hinojosa was projected to be the Democratic nominee for the Governor of Texas race. She will face off against Gov. Abbott in November. 

FOX 7 Austin's Angela Shen is live at Hinojosa's watch party in San Antonio.

9:17 p.m.

Gov. Greg Abbott was projected to be the GOP nominee for the Governor of Texas race. 

FOX 7 Austin's Marco Bitonel is live at Abbott's watch party.

9:11 p.m.

FOX 7 Austin's Rudy Koski and Mike Warren are breaking down everything that has happened, so far, on Primary night.

9:08 p.m.

Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett hopes to get the democratic nomination in a tight race from James Talarico. 

FOX 7 Austin's Katie Pratt is live in Dallas at Crockett's watch party.

9:06 p.m.

The Democrats have a close primary for Cornyn's seat. 

FOX 7 Austin's Jenna King is live at James Talarico's watch party in South Austin.

8:49 p.m.

The Texas Supreme Court has blocked the extension of polling hours in Dallas County.

The order reads:

THE SUPREME COURT OF TEXAS
Orders Pronounced March 3, 2026

MISCELLANEOUS
A STAY IS ISSUED IN THE FOLLOWING PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS:
26-0199
IN RE STATE OF TEXAS; from Dallas County
  
The district court’s order granting emergency petition to extend voting hours issued today in Cause No. 26-03805, styled Kardal Coleman, In His Capacity as Dallas County Democratic Party Chair v. Paul Adams, In His Official Capacity as the Dallas County Elections Administrator, in the 162nd District Court, Dallas County, Texas, is stayed. Voting should occur only as permitted by Texas Election Code Section 41.032. Votes cast by voters who were not in line to vote at 7pm should be separated.
  
[Note: The petition for writ of mandamus remains pending before this Court.]

8:34 p.m.

Two Williamson County polling locations have been court ordered to remain open until 10 p.m. tonight. Northstar Georgetown, 2401 Westinghouse Road, Georgetown, a Democratic Primary polling location, and Georgetown Annex, 100 Wilco Way, Georgetown, for both the Democratic and Republican primaries.

All votes cast after 7 p.m. are provisional ballots according to Election Code. Because provisional ballots take additional time to process, none of the votes cast during extended polling hours will be processed tonight. They will be reported with other provisional voters on the Monday following the elections.

8:29 p.m.

AP has projected the following races:

• Dan Patrick for Republican nomination for Lt Governor
• Michael Cloud for Republican nomination for U.S. District 27

8:22 p.m.

Gov. Greg Abbott spoke to supporters after the Associated Press projected him the winner of the GOP primary for Governor.

Most recent results as of 8:24 p.m. show Abbott leading with over 83% of the vote. 

8 p.m.

FOX 7 Austin's Meredith Aldis is reporting from John Cornyn's watch party as the media awaits remarks from the senator.

7:55 p.m.

The Travis County Clerk says that as of 7 p.m., more than 500 voters were still waiting to cast their ballots across the county.

The first release of results for Travis County will not be released until after all polling places have closed and all #voters in line have been served, says the clerk's office.

7:43 p.m.

FOX 7 Austin's Angela Shen is reporting from Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa's watch party.

7:33 p.m.

A masked man with a large amount of ammunition in his vehicle was arrested outside a Dallas hotel hosting Texas AG Ken Paxton's election watch party, reports FOX 4 Dallas.

Dallas police said they got a call around p.m. about a suspicious man in the 3000 block of Fairmount Street. Officers arrested him for a traffic violation because his vehicle did not have a license plate.

FOX 4 reporters saw officers collecting ammunition on the hood of the vehicle with no license plates. They also pulled out a large amount of ammunition from the trunk of the vehicle.

They detained a man who was wearing a camouflage hat, mask, and gloves.

No firearms were found, police said.

7:30 p.m.

Early voting results are coming in for statewide races from the Secretary of State:

• Jasmine Crockett at 51.27% vs James Talarico at 47.21%
• Gina Hinojosa leading with 53.71%
• Greg Abbott leading with 84.14%
• Paxton leading with 44.19% vs Cornyn at 40.46%

7:19 p.m.

Williamson County is not extending voting hours, saying:

"Primary Elections are conducted by the political parties according to how they choose to hold their election. This year, the political parties will each operate their own separate central counting station. Due to operational requirements by the Republican Party, Williamson County Elections anticipates that the complete results for the Republican Party Primary may not be available until the day after the Primary Election. The results of the Democratic Primary are anticipated to be available later in the evening on Primary Election Day."

Williamson County has also dropped some early voting results:

• 84,480 early voting ballots counted
• John Cornyn with over 50% of the vote compared to Paxton's almost 32%
• Greg Abbott with over 83%
• James Talarico with over 72%
• Gina Hinojosa with almost 74%

7 p.m.

Polls close for most of the state, except Dallas County and parts of West Texas in the Mountain Time Zone.

6:05 p.m.

A judge in Dallas County has extended voting hours to 9 p.m. for Democrats as some say voters in parts of Texas are being turned away from the polls. 

The issue comes after voting locations in some counties, notably Dallas and Williamson, were restricted to specific precincts. According to voters and lawmakers in those areas, mixups on election sites have led to people showing up in places where they can't vote. 

5:34 p.m.

Gov. Greg Abbott is running for his fourth term in the Texas Primaries governor's race.

FOX 7 Austin's Marco Bitonel has the details.

5:30 p.m.

Texas Rep. Gina Hinojosa is running to challenge Gov. Greg Abbott in the Texas Primaries governor's race.

FOX 7 Austin's Angela Shen has the details.

5:27 p.m.

The Republican and Democratic parties are holding separate elections this year in Williamson County.

On election day, Williamson County residents will be required to vote in their home precinct at locations designated by their preferred political party. 

Texas Rep. James Talarico sent out a statement below:

"We are deeply concerned about the reports of voters being turned away from the polls in Dallas and Williamson counties following the GOP’s implementation of precinct-specific voting locations for election day.

We will continue to evaluate the situation on the ground and are calling for an extension of voting hours to ensure all Texans’ voices are heard in this critical election.

If voters in Dallas and Williamson counties are looking for their polling location, we encourage them to visit jamestalarico.com/vote or their county’s election website for more information."

5:08 p.m.

Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett is also seeking the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.

FOX 7 Austin's Katie Pratt has the details.

5:06 p.m.

Texas Rep. James Talarico is in a competitive U.S. Senate race. He is trying to flip the seat currently held by Sen. John Cornyn.

FOX 7 Austin's Jenna King has the details.

5:03 p.m.

We will find out tonight if Sen. John Cornyn is a step closer to keeping his seat in the U.S. Senate. 

FOX 7 Austin's Meredith Aldis has the details.

5:01 p.m.

Voters across Texas are heading to the polls to let their voices be heard in the Texas Primaries. 

FOX 7 Austin's Clif Thornton has the details.

4 p.m.

The Republican and Democratic parties are holding separate elections this year in Williamson County.

On election day, Williamson County residents will be required to vote in their home precinct at locations designated by their preferred political party. 

Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett sent out a statement below:

"The Dallas County Republicans and Williamson County GOP chose to implement precinct-specific voting locations for election day. Under state law, this forced the local Democratic parties to follow suit against our will. Both Dallas and Williamson county voters have grown accustomed to countywide voting, including on election day. 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. We are monitoring the situation and working with our local county party to explore all solutions, including an extension of election day voting hours.

I’m asking all voters in Dallas and Williamson Counties to check their county’s election website or their voter registration card and identify the correct polling location for today. Do not give up and do not give in. The only way we can put an end to these maneuvers is by outvoting the Republicans and kicking them out of office. I’m calling on you to go out and cast your ballots so they know -- Texans don’t appreciate having their votes suppressed and we won’t take it lying down."

3:30 p.m.

Travis County saw a peak turnout on Election Day of about 8,400 people in the 2-3 p.m. hour. 

This is the highest peak in turnout for the entire primary so far, including early voting, per the county's Live Turnout Tracker.

So far Travis County has seen just over 228,000 ballots cast.

2026 ElectionsTexas PoliticsTexasU.S. Senate