Paxton and Crockett Lead Their Texas Senate Primaries

[applegrove]

Paxton and Crockett Lead Their Texas Senate Primaries

February 9, 2026 at 8:36 am EST By Taegan Goddard 146 Comments

https://politicalwire.com/2026/02/09/paxton-and-crockett-lead-their-senate-primaries/

A new University of Houston poll in Texas finds Ken Paxton leading the Republican U.S. Senate primary with 38%, followed by John Cornyn at 31% and Wesley Hunt at 17%.

On the Democratic side, Jasmine Crockett leads with 47%, followed by James Talarico at 39%.

[Torchlight]

1. Crockett is gaining momentum daily

as well as clearly communicating her policy priorities. She's built a visible presence in notrh Texas that looks to me to resonate with a broader range of voters. Here’s hoping her campaign continues to gain traction and achieves success in the race.

[Wiz Imp]

2. Talarico is more likely to win the general election

Both are great, but I'd vote for Talarico. I'm skeptical a black woman can win statewide in Texas.

[Torchlight]

3. I was skeptical a Dem could pull off last week's upset in Tarrant county

Tomorrow never knows.

[pinkstarburst]

14. The dem that won in Tarrant county was a blue collar white man

who had a very salt of the earth look to him. I think we need to be careful before getting to excited and thinking this will translate to conservative Hispanic men shifting their votes to Jasmine.

[Happy Hoosier]

16. I agree.

I hope we don’t lose our chance here. Crockett is a phenomenon, but I don’t think she can win state-wide in Texas.

[walkingman]

4. My hope is that after whomever wins the Primary (both great candidates) Texas Dems

will unite to defeat the winner of the GOP primary. Paxton is garbage, Cornyn is a nobody but I think Paxton will be the easiest to defeat.

The recent comment about "mediocre Black man" is simply meant to divide, and Black voters are not dumb enough to fall for the bait. They will support the Democrat Primary winner.

[mwmisses4289]

5. My main reservation about Talrico is that he makes no bones

that he is a fundamentalist christian.
That is a non starter for me. However, I would rather vote for a dem than a repuke.

[lostnfound]

13. He is NOT a fundamentalist, not even Baptist - he's Presbyterian and progressive

I’ll be ecstatic to see either Crockett or Talarico in the US Senate, or any good Democrat from Texas. The state has a history of voting strong black women into office - Barbara Jordan and Sheila Jackson Lee — into congress, but none that I know of have ever run, let alone won, a statewide office. It is the state that gave us Juneteenth.

Out of 14 US black US Senators in history, these were elected in states with high percentage African American populations:
*Raphael Warnock in Georgia (33% AA)
*Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland (32% AA)
*Tim Scott in South Carolina (27% AA, ‘R’)

These are from moderate percent AA populations:
*Cory Booker in New Jersey (15% AA)
*Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware (22%).
*Barack Obama (16% AA, strongly Democratic state)
*Carol Moseley Braun in Illinois (16% AA, strongly Democratic state)

And low percentage AA populations, but wonderfully liberal states:
*Kamala Harris from California (6% AA)
*Edward Brooks from Massachusetts (7% AA, ‘R’)

If Jasmine Crockett gets elected, she will do so in spite of the fact that Texas has only a 12% AA population, widespread voter suppression, and an anti-Democratic state government.

A general election win by either Crockett or Talarico would expand the art of the possible for Democrats. Crockett has fought publicly very well, memorably, against the Trump administration and she cuts through GOP BS narratives incisively like a knife through butter. Talarico has a potential of changing the narrative in the sleepy heads of Texans who have equated Christianity with the Republican Party for too long, he could give some an excuse they need to change teams.

I agree with this writer that they are both ‘more than qualified’. https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/5650393-faith-politics-texas-senate/
“The stage is set for a Democratic primary with a Texan who is trying to convince Texans to love all their neighbors versus a Texan who refuses to turn the other cheek. Both candidates are more than qualified; the question is which one will resonate with independents and moderate Republicans. Although Crockett might do better with the Democratic base (let’s be honest, everyone loves a fighter), Talarico might force Texans to really dial down into their intersection of faith and politics.“

The one thing we do NOT need is a loss, because we need every Senate seat we can get, and we need to help Democrats regain strength in Texas.

[mwmisses4289]

17. As I stated, while I prefer Ms. Crockett,

I will vote for Mr. Talrico if he ends up being the nominee. Whatever gods are out there knows either one is way more qualified than cornyn. In the few cornyn ads I've seen, he looks worse than t, which makes me wonder what medical issues he has and if he will even make it to November.

[dalton99a]

6. Crockett will not win a statewide election in November

Zero chance.

[applegrove]

7. She was ahead of Paxton in one poll. I think.

[dalton99a]

8. The racists will come out in full force to vote against her.

Her support is limited to urban areas

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

11. Paxton is targeting Indian Americans, Muslims... the racists LOVE that.

then he takes a break and goes after Trans people again... and women wanting abortions.

[pinkstarburst]

15. There is a zero percent chance she can win in November

Having her on the ticket will drive out the republicans in droves to make sure she doesn't get that senate seat.

[Quiet Em]

9. Here is a link to the poll

https://www.uh.edu/hobby/primary2026/senate.pdf

the Crockett/Talerico demographic voter split is on page 15.

[applegrove]

10. Thanks.

[B.See]

12. Between Paxton and Crockett, ONE of them

is an ex tea party far right ultraconservative who, in 2020 sued four other states in an effort to overturn the election on behalf of Trump, incited insurrectionists at the rally Trump held on January 6, and who pursued legal action against President Biden 106 times.

Who served as Texas AG for 10 years while under indictment on fraud charges which were eventually dismissed after fulfilling a pretrial agreement for restitution to the victims, ethics training, and community service.

Who was later accused of "bribery, abuse of office and other crimes", was subsequently impeached and suspended under additional allegations of misuse of public resources and obstruction of justice, YET who was later acquitted by theTexas Senate.

The other is NOT.

Not that any of THAT would matter, deep in the heart of Texas.

(source-Wikipedia)