The 2026 electoral campaign in the United States started on Tuesday with primary elections in Arkansas, North Carolina and Texas to define the candidates of each party for the elections on November 6. Texas is in focus after two major Republicans will go to a runoff in May to decide who faces Democrat James Talarico. In North Carolina, Democrat Roy Cooper and Republican Michael Whatley were elected to the midterms.

First modification: 03/04/2026 - 15:15 Last modification: 03/04/2026 - 18:44

The midterm elections in the United States, or 'midterms', called for November 2026 have already begun in practice since Tuesday, March 3, with primary voting in Texas, North Carolina and Arkansas, where Democrats and Republicans seek to define their candidates for the end-of-year elections, with the war escalating in the Middle East as a backdrop.

The primaries kicked off a seven-month election season in all 50 states that will conclude with the midterm elections in November, which will determine which party will control Congress during the final two years of Trump's term.

All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and a third of the 100 seats in the Senate will be up for grabs.

In Texas, where all eyes are focused, Republican Senator John Cornyn will face the state's attorney general, Ken Paxton, in the second round, after neither surpassed the threshold necessary to win on Tuesday. Whoever wins will face James Talarico, the Democratic representative who won against Jasmine Crockett.

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Paxton's office challenged the decision to keep polls open longer, and the state Supreme Court ruled that ballots cast by those not in line at 7 p.m. m. They had to be separated from the others.

Texas went to the polls after the redistribution of congressional districts requested by Donald Trump's strategy in order to increase up to five seats in the House of Representatives, where it will try to preserve its narrow majority.

The strategy was replicated in three other states – some of them Democratic – and redistribution is at stake in at least one more.

Texans on Tuesday also chose the candidates to renew the 38 congressional districts, each equivalent to one seat in the House of Representatives.

Also read"Law to Make Elections Great Again": is Trump seeking to tip the balance in his favor?

James Talarico, the Democratic bet in Texas

State Rep. James Talarico, 36, edged out Rep. Jasmine Crockett in a disputed Democratic primary for the Texas Senate, raising hopes of a big upset in November in a Republican-controlled state.

No Democrat has won a statewide race in that state in more than three decades. "We are about to take back Texas," Talarico predicted after his victory.

The Democratic struggle was, mainly, a battle of styles: Crockett, with incendiary rhetoric against President Trump, and Talarico, a seminarian with a more moderate speech, presented disparate political visions within the party opposing the White House.

"We're not just trying to win an election. We're trying to radically change our politics. And it's working," Talarico told supporters in Austin.

Talarico's rival will depend on a second round in May between veteran Republican Senator John Cornyn and MAGA favorite Ken Paxton, after neither managed to overcome the 50% threshold, due, in part, to the participation of US Representative Wesley Hunt, another Republican candidate for the 'midterms', finally eliminated.

Thus, the most expensive Senate primaries in history will be extended another 12 weeks in Texas. Cornyn is seeking a fifth term, but faces a stiff challenge from Paxton, the state attorney general.

"I have worked for decades to build the Republican Party, both here in Texas and nationally. I refuse to allow a flawed, self-centered and shameless candidate like Ken Paxton to jeopardize everything we have worked so hard to build for so many years," Cornyn said.

A hypothetical support from Donald Trump, who has not yet pointed his finger at either of them, would be an important factor in tipping the balance.

Democrat Crockett, defeated by Talarico, announced she will sue voting problems in Dallas, her campaign headquarters, after alleging in a brief appearance Tuesday night that "people have been disenfranchised."

Voting was expanded in Dallas and Williamson counties, outside Austin, after voters reported being turned away or redirected to different precincts due to new primary rules.

Meanwhile, in North Carolina, Democrat Roy Cooper will face Michael Whatley, who was endorsed by Donald Trump, in November, while Arkansas will also decide its new governor between Sarah Huckabee Sanders (Republican) and Fred Love (Democrat).

Read also'SAVE' Law is approved in the Lower House: what does it mean for the midterm elections in the US?

North Carolina, determining factor in the midterms

In North Carolina, Democrat Roy Cooper, the state's former two-term governor, will face Michael Whatley, former chairman of the Republican National Committee, for the only open seat in a dispute that will be crucial in determining control of the Senate in November.

The challenge for Cooper, who won with more than 90% of the vote according to the AP, will be to translate his success in the gubernatorial races into the Senate elections, something the Democratic Party has struggled with.

Meanwhile, Whatley will have to win the support of moderate or independent voters, who may doubt Trump's support as a reason to vote for him. The differences between the president and the current Republican senator from North Carolina, Thom Tillis, led the latter to decide not to be re-elected, after two terms in power.

North Carolina voters also chose party candidates for all 14 congressional districts.

Arkansas defined its gubernatorial candidates

Arkansas's four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are up for re-election this year, which are expected to remain in GOP hands in November.

In the race for the Senate, Republican Tom Cotton will obtain a new nomination for a third term, with 80% of the votes placing him as the great favorite in the November midterm elections.

He will face Hallie Shoffner, on the Democratic side, a farmer who recently closed the family farm due to economic pressures and who defeated Ethan Dunbar on Tuesday by a gap of 50% of the vote.

Arkansas will also elect a new governor this year, so two Democratic candidates, Fred Love and Supha

Love will finally be the one who appears in the electoral runoff as the Democratic candidate, after obtaining more than 80% of the votes.

With AP and local media

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