War in Iran jolts final day of campaigning in Texas primary

WACO, Texas (AP) — Candidates in Texas’ tightly competitive U.S. Senate primary were treading carefully in response to U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran, with some giving the war a glancing mention in the final hours of campaigning before Tuesday's election. Others didn't raise it at all.

Asked about the strikes Monday, Republican candidates and voters were more robust in their support of the Trump administration's action than Democrats were. But with many unknowns about the attacks and the United States' long-term plans, candidates were cautious in discussing details or opinions about what may happen next in the fast-moving military action.

Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton breezed through his 15-minute remarks with scarcely a mention during a lunchtime event at a restaurant in Waco, his last campaign event before Tuesday's election.

Talking to reporters afterward, Paxton stood by President Donald Trump's actions. He suggested that as a Texas official he had no information about the long-range plan. But Paxton said the action would have little effect on the MAGA base, whom the president promised he would avoid what he calls “forever wars,” those without clear exit strategies.

But when asked whether Trump had been clear in communicating the objectives of the strikes, Paxton declined to answer.

“An open-ended war? I don’t have any intelligence, but I don’t think that’s Trump’s idea,” Paxton said. “He wants to get this over with.”

At George's Restaurant and Bar in Waco, plenty of Paxton's supporters said they applaud the administration's actions.

Connie Stamps of Waco said the action, notably killing Iranian leadership, “is going to be good for the whole world.”

“I'm very thankful we have a president who does what he says he's going to do," she said, dismissing the question that Trump was starting an overseas conflict he campaigned against. “He cares about the whole world. He's the peace president.”

In all three of his presidential campaigns, Trump campaigned against prolonged foreign military entanglements, although he and his administration have provided little information about long-term goals beyond eliminating Iran's power structure. U.S. talks with Iran on reaching an agreement about its nuclear program had been ongoing in recent weeks.

Four-term Republican Sen. John Cornyn, challenged in a competitive primary campaign by Paxton and U.S. Rep Wesley Hunt, also talked little about Iran during his remarks at an event in Schertz, a suburb of San Antonio.

Questioned later by a reporter, Cornyn said he supports the attack, which the Trump administration conducted without first getting congressional approval. But when asked if Trump has done a good job explaining the objectives for the war, Cornyn pivoted somewhat.

“We'll have a debate in Congress what the goals and objectives are,” he said, while adding, "I am completly satisfied in the president’s explanation.”

Cornyn referenced Trump's video announcement of the attacks: “I think the president made a cogent and good explanation. I think there will be more debate.”

Aboard Air Force One with Trump last week headed to Texas, Cornyn said, he and other members of the state’s congressional delegation were asked by Trump their thoughts about a strike, to which Cornyn said the rest of the contingent said they supported it.

Elton Hartwich, who wore a Vietnam veteran cap, said he supports the war, and thinks others should too.

“I think it should be backed by more poeple,” he said. "I think we as Americans gotta look back at what Iranians did to our people."

But David Ozuna, of New Braunfels, Texas, who attended Cornyn's event, said he doesn’t support the strikes and thinks Trump has inadequately explained his reasons or what would constitute an acceptable resolution. Ozuna's position is rooted in his own family members who died and were wounded while serving in the military.

“I think that we as citizens, before we send our sons and daughters, mothers and fathers to support this thing, deserve to have a good explanation as to what we’re doing, what the objective is and where we’re going," Ozuna said.

Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, who is running against Rep. Jasmine Crockett for their party's nomination, touched lightly on the conflict during a rally at the University of Houston, lamenting only the deaths of three U.S. service members killed.

But Charles Padmore from Houston was unsparing, calling the strikes on Iran “absolutely horrible.”

“It shouldn't have happened. It's illegal. We're the aggressor. They didn't do anything to us, really, so we shouldn't have been so aggressive in attacking them, and a lot of people have died," Padmore said.

He said that Trump had not adequately explained his objectives to the nation, and fears the war could linger for years. “This could go for years to come if they don’t have a clear exit strategy," he said.

Vertuno reported from Schertz, Texas. Associated Press writers Juan Lozano in Houston and John D. Hanna in Dallas contributed to this report.

U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, arrives at a campaign event, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Primary candidate for U.S. Senate Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, responds to a question during a broadcast interview at a campaign stop in Dallas, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

James Talarico, a Texas Democratic primary candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks during an event at the University of Houston Monday, March 2, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks during a campaign stop in The Woodlands, Texas, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Annie Mulligan)

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, addresses supporters during a campaign stop, Monday, March 2, 2026, in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court cleared the way Monday for California schools to tell parents if their children identify as transgender without getting the student's approval, granting an emergency appeal from a conservative legal group.

The order blocks for now a state law that bans automatic parental notification requirements if students change their pronouns or gender expression at school.

The split decision comes after religious parents and educators challenged California school policies aimed at preventing schools from outing students to their families. Two sets of Catholic parents represented by the Thomas More Society say it caused schools to mislead them and secretly facilitate the children's social transition despite their objections.

California, on the other hand, argued that students have the right to privacy about their gender expression, especially if they fear rejection from their families. The state said that school policies and state law are aimed at striking a balance with parents’ rights.

The high court majority, though, sided with the parents and reinstated a lower-court order blocking the law and school policies while the case continues to play out.

“The parents who assert a free exercise claim have sincere religious beliefs about sex and gender, and they feel a religious obligation to raise their children in accordance with those beliefs. California’s policies violate those beliefs,” and burden the free exercise of religion, the majority wrote in an unsigned order.

The court's three liberal justices publicly dissented, saying the case is still working its way through lower courts and there was no need to step in now. “If nothing else, this Court owes it to a sovereign State to avoid throwing over its policies in a slapdash way, if the Court can provide normal procedures. And throwing over a State’s policy is what the Court does today,” Justice Elena Kagan wrote.

Conservative Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, meanwhile, noted they would have gone further and granted teachers' appeal to lift restrictions for them.

The Thomas More Society called the decision “the most significant parental rights ruling in a generation.”

The Supreme Court has ruled for religious plaintiffs in other recent cases, including allowing parents to pull their children from public-school lessons if they object to storybooks with LGBTQ+ characters.

The California order comes months after the court upheld state bans on gender-identity-related healthcare for minors. The justices also seem to be leaning toward allowing states to ban transgender athletes from playing on girls sports teams.

School policies for transgender students, meanwhile, have also been on the court’s radar in other cases.

The court rebuffed another similar case out of Wisconsin in December, but three conservative justices indicated they would have heard the case. Justice Samuel Alito called the school policies “an issue of great and growing national importance.”

The Trump administration, meanwhile, found in January that California's policies violated parents' right to access their children's education records. The Justice Department also sued after determining the states' transgender athlete policies violate federal civil rights law.

FILE - The Supreme Court is photographed, Feb. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)