WaPo: “The 2026 midterm election season kicks off Tuesday with primaries in Arkansas, North Carolina and Texas, including several high-profile contests that will set the tone for November as voters weigh in on President Donald Trump’s second administration and Democrats debate their party’s direction….
The night’s primaries will also kick into high gear with two key races in the battle for the Senate. Democrats are especially bullish about their chances in North Carolina, where former Democratic governor Roy Cooper is likely to face former RNC chairman Michael Whatley. And volatile primaries on both sides in Texas could shape their long-held — and long-failed — hopes of flipping the red state blue….
Sen. John Cornyn, a four-term incumbent and GOP stalwart, is facing off against two primary challengers who have framed him as a relic of the George W. Bush era. Cornyn has far outraised the state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton, but has not surpassed the scandal-plagued MAGA darling in the polls as they battle between their visions of traditional conservatism or a sharp right turn.
Democrats are facing a similarly existential choice between Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D), who says her unfiltered clapbacks against Trump and the GOP are the best way to rile up the party’s base, and state Rep. James Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian preaching a blend of Christianity and left-leaning values….
Perhaps the most closely watched House primary will also be in Texas, where a reelection bid from Rep. Tony Gonzales (R) has been rocked by allegations that he had an affair with a staffer who lit herself on fire and died. Gonzales faces a rematch against Brandon Herrera, a hard-right firearms manufacturer and YouTuber whose 4 million followers know him as “the AK Guy.”…
National Democrats have pointed to Tejano singer Bobby Pulido as a top recruit to face off against Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R) in a majority-Latino South Texas seat that swung to Trump. He must first beat emergency room doctor Ada Cuellar, who has drawn the backing of figures such as Crockett and who says Pulido is too conservative. Likewise, in Western North Carolina, similar buzz could emerge around farmer Jamie Ager — if he manages to win a crowded primary contest to run against Rep. Chuck Edwards (R) in a district that became lighter-red in redistricting….
Another notable race is playing out in North Carolina, where incumbent Rep. Valerie Foushee (D) is fending off a challenge from her left by Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam.
The race in the deep-blue district around the state’s affluent Research Triangle has attracted considerable attention and outside spending, with Foushee benefiting from a last-minute surge of money from Jobs and Democracy PAC, a group aligned with the AI company Anthropic.
Allam has looked to turn that money — as well as money Foushee took in a past race from AIPAC, the powerful pro-Israel organization — into an attack against the incumbent. Allam is also benefiting from outside spending, from Leaders We Deserve, the Democratic group aiming to oust some incumbents and elect younger leaders.”