Nearly 4.5 million Texans voted in the Democratic and Republican primaries, according to The Texas Tribune, surpassing recent turnout numbers. A total of 2.3 million ballots were cast in the Democratic primary and 2.2 million in the Republican primary, marking the first time Democratic turnout was higher since 2020. Texas has approximately 18.7 million registered voters, so turnout was just under 25%.
Voters in both parties can return to the polls in May to decide primary winners in several runoff elections where no candidate garnered a majority:
- U.S. Sen. John Cornyn faces challenger Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Cornyn received 41.9% of the GOP vote to 40.7% for Paxton in the March 3 primary.
- State Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston faces U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin for the Republican nomination for Texas Attorney General. Middleton led in the primary with 39.1%, while Roy had 31.6%.
- On the Democratic side for attorney general, state Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, faces former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski. Johnson fell just short of winning a majority with 48.1% in the primary, while Jaworski earned 26.4% of the vote.
- Two Democrats are headed for a runoff for lieutenant governor. State Rep. Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin, finished well ahead of Marcos Velez, a Houston labor leader, with 48% of the vote. Velez received 31.5% of the primary vote. The winner will face incumbent GOP Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
PLEASE LOG IN FOR PREMIUM CONTENT. Our website requires visitors to log in to view the best local news.
Not yet a subscriber? Subscribe today!
