In races from California to Texas to Maine, high-profile candidates are vying for House, Senate, and gubernatorial nominations.
WASHINGTON—While the midterm general election is still nearly a year off, the primary season has already gotten well underway across the United States.
In races from California to Texas to Maine, high-profile candidates are vying for the nomination in a series of key races for the U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and governorships.
The outcomes of these races will shape the 2026 midterm season, as Republicans seek to hold the gains they made in 2024 and Democrats seek to go on the offensive.
Here are the key primary races to watch as midterm season ramps up.
| Texas Senate | Georgia Senate |
| Michigan Senate | Kentucky Senate |
| Maine Senate | Texas’s 28th Congressional District |
| Maine’s 2nd Congressional District | Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District |
| Georgia’s 14th Congressional District | Governors |
Texas Senate
Both parties are investing resources—and attention—into the race to be the Lone Star State’s next senator.
The incumbent in the race, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), is facing one of the toughest primary challenges of his career from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) is also seeking the Republican nomination.
Paxton, who has dealt with controversies and an impeachment trial that resulted in his acquittal, entered the contest earlier this year when he announced he would challenge Cornyn.
The RealClearPolitics average shows a close race with Cornyn holding a narrow lead over Paxton.
Hunt, the third-place contender, has argued that he offers an alternative to both candidates.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee, the main campaigning and fundraising arm of the Senate GOP, is backing Cornyn.
President Donald Trump has not made an endorsement in the race.
If no candidate wins at least 50 percent of the vote, the race will go to a runoff.
While Republicans are the favorites to win the race in a state Trump won by more than 14 points in 2024, Democrats have sometimes seen close calls in the state’s Senate elections. This year, the party hopes for an upset.
The leading contender, Texas state Rep. James Talarico, came to prominence during the redistricting battle this summer as Texas Republicans added five Republican districts to the state’s congressional map.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) entered the race on Oct. 8 after former Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) dropped out.
Georgia Senate
Reps. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) and Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) and former football coach Derek Dooley are running to take on incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) in one of the most-watched races of the 2026 cycle.
The Republican candidates are vying to prove their loyalty to President Donald Trump as they seek his endorsement.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has endorsed Dooley.
“I’m a firm believer that we need a political outsider to do that, someone that can stay focused on his record, but also someone who has a vision for our state in the future,” Kemp said in August. “That is not a politician.”
The RealClearPolitics average shows Collins with a lead of almost 10 percentage points among the challengers, but Ossoff is leading all three Republicans in head-to-head polling.
While Georgia voted for Trump by around a 2.5-point margin in 2024, the state has increasingly become a swing state in recent years—favoring Democrats on the Senate level.
Currently, both of Georgia’s senators are Democrats. In 2022, Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) fought off a challenge from Republican Herschel Walker.
The primary is scheduled for May 19.
