Texas Politics: Big Wins, Big Upsets Across the Board

Rep. Ken Paxton, and U.S. Senate candidate watch party — Source: The Dallas Morning News/Hearst Newspapers / Getty

Texas politics just went full volume, and the bass is still shaking.

On the Republican side, Attorney General Ken Paxton pulled off a major upset, defeating longtime U.S. Senator John Cornyn in the GOP runoff for U.S. Senate. Cornyn has been in office since 2002, but voters chose change this time around. Paxton also got a big boost from President Donald Trump, who backed him as a “MAGA warrior.”

Now Paxton moves on to the main stage in November, where he’ll face Democrat James Talarico in the fight for a U.S. Senate seat.

But the Democratic side had its own drama.

Former Congressman Colin Allred is making a comeback, beating Rep. Julie Johnson in a Dallas-area Democratic runoff. Allred dropped out of the Senate race last year and shifted his focus back to the House after redistricting reshaped the map.

If the name sounds familiar, it’s because Allred lost to Ted Cruz in 2024, and before that, he flipped a Republican district blue back in 2018. He also played in the NFL before stepping into politics.

Things got a little awkward in this race too—Johnson actually replaced Allred in Congress when he left to run for Senate.

Down in Houston, longtime Rep. Al Green was also defeated by fellow Democrat Christian Menefee after new district maps forced them into the same race.

Bottom line? Texas voters are remixing the political playlist—and nobody’s seat is safe right now.