With the dust settled from this week’s Texas Republican Primary Runoff Election, it is obvious that voters overwhelmingly rejected the status quo and establishment figures, ousting some longtime incumbents, as well as repudiating out-of-state casino influence.
Here’s a brief rundown of the results:
U.S. Senate: Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated1 incumbent Senator John Cornyn decisively, receiving approximately 64% of the vote to Cornyn’s 36%.2 Paxton secured roughly 886,000 votes compared to Cornyn’s 502,000. The victory comes on the heels of President Trump’s endorsement of Paxton just one week before election day. The stage is now set for Paxton to face off against Democrat state Rep. James Talarico in November.
Attorney General: State Sen. Mayes Middleton defeated3 U.S. Rep. Chip Roy roughly 55% to 45%, respectively, to claim the Republican nomination for Texas Attorney General. This race to succeed Paxton drew significant attention as the two vied for one of the most consequential elected positions and the chief law enforcement officer of the state.
Railroad Commission: In the closest race of the election, former Tarrant County GOP Chair Bo French narrowly defeated4 incumbent Commissioner Jim Wright with approximately 50.6% to 49.4%. French received about 664,000 votes to Wright’s 649,000.
What makes the railroad commissioner race the most interesting, is not how close it was, but what happened behind the scenes just weeks before. The Railroad Commission oversees critical oil and gas regulation in Texas. And yet, Texas Sands PAC, funded by the China-centered Las Vegas Sands and one of the top lobbying organizations for bringing predatory gambling in the form of brick-and-mortar casinos to the state, contributed $500,000 to incumbent Jim Wright,5 which was the largest single donation for Wright in the runoff period.
This was just the latest instance6 where Sands PAC inserted itself into a Texas race, and once again where their efforts fell short.7 Many were left wondering WHY Sands was dumping half a million dollars aimed at influencing a regulatory office, totally unrelated to gambling policy.
But it seems Republican voters rejected their influence in this race as well, seeing through it as simply another attempt to gain influence at every level of government to push their pro-casino agenda.
Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 3: Thomas Smith defeated8 Alison Fox with roughly 58% to 42% of the vote, to be the Republican nominee for Texas’ highest court for criminal cases.
Additional Highlight: Texas House
In a strong win for fiscal conservatives, Stan Stanart secured victory9 in the Republican runoff for Texas House District 126, defeating Kelly Peterson with about 67% of the vote. This open seat, following the retirement of Rep. Sam Harless, adds another voice committed to limited government and pro-taxpayer reforms in the Texas House.
These nominees, and those who won outright in March, will face off against their general election opponents in November.
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- https://apnews.com/live/election-primary-texas-runoff-05-26-2026 ↩︎
- https://goelect.txelections.civixapps.com/ivis-enr-ui/races ↩︎
- https://goelect.txelections.civixapps.com/ivis-enr-ui/contestdetails?officeID=3&officeName=ATTORNEY%20GENERAL&officeType=STATEWIDE%20OFFICES&from=race ↩︎
- https://goelect.txelections.civixapps.com/ivis-enr-ui/contestdetails?officeID=4843&officeName=RAILROAD%20COMMISSIONER%20&officeType=STATEWIDE%20OFFICES&from=race ↩︎
- https://texastaxpayers.com/predatory-gambling-interests-become-largest-donor-in-texas-railroad-commission-race/ ↩︎
- https://texastaxpayers.com/is-las-vegas-sands-spending-big-in-an-effort-to-buy-the-irving-city-council/ ↩︎
- https://texastaxpayers.com/nearly-94-of-huffmans-funding-from-one-casino/ ↩︎
- https://goelect.txelections.civixapps.com/ivis-enr-ui/contestdetails?officeID=3819&officeName=JUDGE,%20COURT%20OF%20CRIMINAL%20APPEALS,%20PLACE%203&officeType=STATEWIDE%20OFFICES&from=race ↩︎
- https://goelect.txelections.civixapps.com/ivis-enr-ui/contestdetails?officeID=4886&officeName=STATE%20REPRESENTATIVE%20DISTRICT%20126&officeType=DISTRICT%20OFFICES&from=race ↩︎
