French Win in Runoff Gravy for Dems
on GOP Ticket with Paxton at the Top
General Election Rankings
Capitol Inside
May 27, 2026
Republican voters may have done more to turn Texas blue than the Democrats have in 30 years when they put the final touches on the GOP ticket for 2026 with the nomination of Ken Paxton for the U.S. Senate and Bo French for railroad commissioner in the primary runoff election on Tuesday.
French ousted Texas Railroad Commission member Jim Wright in the only truly close contest on either side of the aisle in the overtime election - according to the Secretary of State's office - with less than 50.6 percent of the vote. The Republican runoff for the RRC wasn't settled until Wednesday morning when all of the ballots had been counted.
Paxton unseated U.S. Senator John Cornyn with almost 64 percent in Tuesday's runoff after winning 62 percent of the votes that were cast early. French - in contrast - scored more than 52 percent of the early vote watching the tentative lead shrink throughout Tuesday evening to a point that made the RRC race too close to call during Wednesday morning's wee hours.
Governor Greg Abbott and other high-ranking Republicans vigorously supported Wright in the RRC runoff amid dire warnings on the disaster that French could be for the ticket in the fall. French, a former Tarrant County GOP chairman, has mocked people who are gay and disabled while frequently attacking Muslims and Islam. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick sought without success to force French out of the local party leadership post last summer after he posted a social media poll asking whether Jewish people or Muslims represented the biggest threat to America.
With James Talarico waiting in the wings as the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, Democrats have been salivating at the prospects of facing Paxton in the race that will be crowning the general election ballot in Texas this fall. Paxton has been charged with felony securities fraud, impeached by 60 Texas House Republicans on corruption charges and investigated by the FBI amid bribery allegations that were lodged by aides who he'd fired. Paxton's foes sought to capitalize as well on a divorce that his wife who's a state senator filed last year amid accusations of adultery.
Cornyn and fellow GOP leaders in the U.S. Senate warned repeatedly that Talarico would have a good chance to seize the Texas seat if Paxton emerged from the runoff as the nominee.
State Senator Mayes Middleton captured the GOP nomination for Texas attorney general when he beat U.S. Rep. Chip Roy with 68 percent of the runoff vote. Across the aisle, State Rep. Vikki Goodwin defeated overtime rival Marcos Velez in a fight for the Democratic nomination in the race for the position that Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick is seeking again this year.
Democratic State Senator Nathan Johnson beat Joe Jaworski with 61 percent of the runoff vote in the race to replace Paxton as the Texas attorney general.
The list of winners on the U.S. House battlefield on Tuesday included Republican Carlos De La Cruz in a come-from-behind victory over State Rep. John Lujan in Congressional District 35 - one of five Texas seats that were remade for the GOP on a map that lawmakers approved last summer for President Donald Trump. After trailing Lujan by 6 points in the March primary election, De La Cruz rode an endorsement from Trump to victory in round two on Tuesday with almost 58 percent of the vote.
Democrat Johnny Garcia won a runoff for the nomination in CD 35 with 64 percent of the vote in a fight with Maureen Galindo - the first-round leader who was accused of antisemitic rhetoric and bizarre remarks about Zionists.
Democrat Colin Allred unseated U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson in a newly-reconfigured Congressional District 33 in the Dallas area with almopst 54 percent of the runoff vote. Democratic U.S. Rep. Christian Menefee of Houston held off a colleague in longtime U.S. Rep. Al Green with 69 percent of the overtime vote in Congressional District 18.
Republican Alex Mealer, who'd scored a Trump endorsement as well, walloped State Rep. Briscoe Cain with 68 percent of the vote in a runoff in Congressional District 9. Green has represented CD 9 but shifted to CD 18 after his current seat was converted to Republican. Johnson has been the representative in Congressional District 32 - another target on the GOP map. Allred represented CD 32 before an unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate in 2024.
more to come ...
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