Here’s were things stand as of early Wednesday morning.
SAN ANTONIO — A slew of high-stakes Texas primary elections reached their respective finish lines Tuesday night while others – including a U.S. House contest clouded in controversy – were protracted to the May 26 runoff.
It was also a night of strong participation for Bexar County voters. Local elections officials reported a turnout of at least 22.4% with full unofficial results tabulated early Wednesday morning; that’s the best turnout in the county for a midterm primary election cycle since at least 1994, besting 2022’s mark of 15.57%.
Read on for the results of every major county, Texas and federal race. Check full results here.
Bexar County judge
Ron Nirenberg shot out to a 24-point lead early in the evening over incumbent Peter Sakai in the Democratic Primary, eventually winning the nomination and putting himself in position to win the lead county position ahead of November.
He will face Republican Patrick Von Dohlen, who was unopposed.
Bexar County district attorney
Luz Elena Chapa and Jane Davis finished as the top vote-getters in a packed Democratic primary field in the DA race, collecting 23.8% and 18.14% of support, respectively. The next-closest candidate, outsider Shannon Locke, had 14% of the vote.
Davis has worked for seven different district attorneys and currently works as chief of the juvenile division under Bexar County DA Joe Gonzales, who said last summer that he would be retiring from the position. Chapa is a former attorney and judge who has cited repeat offenders as being among the office’s biggest challenges.
They’re set to face off in the May 26 primary, with the winner going on to face Ashley Foster, the lone Republican in the running.
U.S. Senate
Both sides of the ballot made good on their high-stakes storylines in the U.S. Senate race for incumbent John Cornyn’s seat.
As of 1 a.m. Wednesday, Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton were separated by less than a point as they can begin making plans to meet in the May 26 runoff.
State Rep. James Talarico was leading Jasmine Crockett, 53.3% to 45.5%, but Election Day returns were marred by allegations on the part of Crockett of voter disenfranchisement in Dallas. At issue was voter confusion regarding a new process restricting where voters could cast their ballot in Dallas County.
Texas governor, lieutenant governor
Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick cruised to primary victories on the Republican ballot, both securing at least 80% of the vote while fending off multiple challengers.
On the Democratic side, State Rep. Gina Hinojosa rose above eight other contenders to win her party’s nomination outright with nearly 60% of the vote, according to unofficial results from the Texas Secretary of State. A Democrat hasn’t served as the state’s top elected leader since Ann Richards in the 1990s.
As of 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, Vikki Goodwin appeared headed to a runoff with Courtney Head; she had 48.5% of the vote, just missing the 50% threshold to win outright. But some ballots were still being counted.
Texas attorney general
An open contest this year with Ken Paxton looking to unseat Sen. John Cornyn, the Republican Primary for Texas attorney general is heading to a runoff featuring State Sen. Mayes Middleton and U.S. Rep. Chip Roy.
Nathan Johnson was also poised to reach the Democratic Primary runoff in the AG race. But who he will face is up in the air: Joe Jaworski and Anthony “Tony” Box were separated by less than four points as of early Wednesday morning.
U.S. House District 20
San Antonio Democrat Joaquin Castro marched one step closer to an eighth term in Congress after easily winning his nomination. He will go on to face Edgardo Rafael Baez in November. The military veteran and longtime attorney is the lone Republican running for CD-20 in 2026.
U.S. House District 23
Tony Gonzales and Brandon Herrera will meet in the May runoff, extending a primary battle for Texas’ biggest congressional district that’s come to be defined by whether or not voters see fit to reelect Gonzales amid allegations he had an affair with a staffer who later took her own life.
The two GOP opponents are familiar with each other: Herrera lost to Gonzales by just 354 votes out of nearly 30,000 ballots in their 2024 primary runoff battle. The winner will likely face Katy Padilla Stout, who as of early Wednesday morning had 52.2% of the vote in the Democratic Primary.
U.S. House District 35
Democrat Greg Casar’s old seat (he decided to seek office in Congressional District 37 closer to his Austin home) is up for grabs and will be headed to runoff elections in May.
John Lujan and Carlos De La Cruz were the top Republican voter-getters in the primaries. The four Democratic Primary candidates were packed much tighter together, polling between 20.1% and 28.6% as of 1 a.m. Wednesday with some ballots left to be counted.