President Donald Trump has said he plans to endorse one of the candidates in the Republican Senate runoff in Texas, but Tuesday was the last chance for either to withdraw from the ballot and fulfill the party's hope of avoiding more than two months of bitter and costly campaigning.
Neither incumbent Sen. John Cornyn or state Attorney General Ken Paxton bowed out by the evening deadline, and instead recently launched new advertisements criticizing each other.
Trump told NBC News on Saturday that he thinks he’ll bestow an endorsement this week. But it's already been two weeks since he originally promised to back a candidate “soon" and urge the one without his support to drop out of the race “for the good of the Party."
Cornyn finished ahead of Paxton in the March 3 primary, although he didn't secure the majority needed to avoid a runoff.
Asked about the chance of Cornyn dropping out, campaign spokesman Matt Mackowiak said “of course not” and "we’ve already started our campaign.”
An ad released Tuesday by Cornyn's campaign highlighted allegations that Paxton had an affair and his impeachment by Texas' Republican-controlled House. Paxton was later acquitted and denied corruption accusations. Another ad framed some of the same accusations as Paxton violating the Ten Commandments.
As to whether Paxton plans to step down, campaign spokesman Nick Maddux declined to comment. But the candidate introduced a new attack ad against Cornyn on Friday and is scheduled to speak this month at the Conservative Political Action Committee’s annual convention, hardly the signs of a candidate eyeing the exit.
The ad is a series of news clips highlighting Cornyn's past critiques of Trump, including over the president's false statements that the 2020 election was stolen, and frames Paxton as the MAGA-aligned candidate.
A pro-Paxton super PAC has also sought to catch Trump’s attention by airing an ad with the same messaging in the West Palm Beach, Florida, market, which includes Trump’s resort home, Mar-a-Lago.
But Cornyn, a more traditional Republican, isn't retreating from the fight over who's the better MAGA adherent: the first sentence on his website is “Cornyn votes with President Trump 99% of the time."
Trump told NBC News he likes “both candidates very much" and believes that either could beat the Democratic nominee, state Rep. James Talarico, in the general election.
While Cornyn came out slightly ahead of Paxton in the primary, the second round of voting could favor the attorney general since runoffs typically draw a more conservative, activist corner of the Republican Party.
"Cornyn has always had a weakness with the most conservative voters in the electorate," said Joshua Blank, director of research for the Texas Political Project at the University of Texas, Austin, which conducts statewide polls.
Still, he added, Cornyn's primary campaign appeared to offset at least part of that disadvantage and “illustrate for the Republican primary electorate what kinds of vulnerabilities that Ken Paxton has.”
The ads, however, matter less in a runoff contest, said veteran Texas Republican strategist Dave Carney. The smaller, more concentrated electorate puts an emphasis on identifying individual voters, contacting them directly through digital advertising and texts, he said.
“Whoever has good data and knows who their supporters are and turns them out will win,” he said.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, speaks during a primary election night watch party Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, departs following votes at the Capitol, Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois voters are deciding primaries Tuesday for six open U.S. House and Senate seats that will spur a new generation of leadership in the state’s heavily Democratic congressional delegation.
The retirement of longtime Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat, has triggered a competitive campaign, drawing as candidates two sitting House members and the lieutenant governor, among others. Sharp elbows and furious fundraising have marked the race, which also is a test of the influence of Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, a billionaire whose name is floated as a 2028 presidential contender.
A spate of House retirements has led to open seats with crowded contests across the Chicago area. The stakes are high, with most primary winners in the Democratic stronghold expected to win in November.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee and PACs supporting the cryptocurrency and AI industries also have spent big on several of the contests.
Ten Democrats and six Republicans are running after Durbin, the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat, announced his retirement after five terms.
Three top Democrats have emerged: Chicago-area U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton.
Krishnamoorthi has dominated fundraising and the airwaves, and was the first on television with ads in July. He started 2026 with over $15 million on hand after spending more than $6 million and raising more than $3.5 million in the final three months of last year, according to campaign finance records.
By comparison, Stratton started the year with $1 million after raising about the same amount and spending just under $1 million in the last three months of 2025. But last month Pritzker put $5 million in a super PAC largely aimed at helping get her elected.
She campaigned on Pritzker's endorsement and lit into Krishnamoorthi at debates, particularly on the five-term Democrat's voting record and donations from a contractor tied to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“That is not the example of somebody who’s going to stand up to Donald Trump and fight for all of our communities,” Stratton said during a debate in January. “I want to abolish ICE.”
Rochelle Brockenborough, 64, said she voted for Stratton at the Dr. Martin Luther King Community Service Center in Chicago.
“I wanted to make sure there was no AIPAC money. That’s important to me,” she said, adding that U.S. tax dollars shouldn't be used to support Israel.
Krishnamoorthi, who has called to dismantle ICE, said he donated the money to immigrant rights groups. He argued that Stratton zeroed in on him because she “didn’t have any policy ideas. She had to attack.”
Meanwhile Kelly has taken issue with Pritzker’s involvement, arguing that a sitting governor should not interfere.
Shana Sumers, 36, said she voted for Kelly to support marginalized communities, such as transgender people. She also described the Iran war as “a big distraction.”
“We really need to be able to afford housing, afford health care, afford to go to the grocery store,” Sumers said.
Candidates have touted ties to iconic Chicagoans including President Barack Obama and the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died last month. However, an endorsement touted posthumously by Stratton caused a snag as Jackson's family withdrew it Monday, saying the draft wasn't meant for public release.
Election officials hope to see busy polls after statewide turnout in the 2024 primary was 19%, the lowest in more than five decades.
Among issues reported Tuesday were complaints that poll workers in Madison County asked voters to show ID, drawing attention from the local elections office and the state attorney general. Officials in the southern Illinois county said the issue in one precinct was resolved. Showing an ID at a polling place is not required in Illinois.
In the Republican primary, six candidates are on the ballot including Don Tracy, former Illinois Republican Party chairman, and attorney Jeannie Evans. Illinois last had a Republican in the Senate a decade ago, when Mark Kirk was defeated by current Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth.
Dozens of candidates are running for five open seats in the Chicago area, where funding from groups supporting Israel and the cryptocurrency industry have played an outsize role.
Ten Democrats and one Republican are running in Kelly’s district, the 2nd, which spans parts of the South Side and suburbs and dips into the central Illinois farmlands. Among the Democrats are former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., son of the late civil rights leader, Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller and state Sen. Robert Peters.
The open seat in Krishnamoorthi's suburban 8th District has attracted eight Democratic candidates, including former U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean and Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison.
Two other House members are retiring after long careers.
The 7th District of Rep. Danny Davis, who was first elected in 1996, covers parts of downtown, the West Side and suburbs. Democratic front-runners to replace him include state Rep. La Shawn Ford, City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, developer Jason Friedman and Kina Collins, a community organizer. Two Republicans are running.
Rep. Jan Schakowsky is also retiring, after 14 terms, and the primary field for her 9th District seat is the most crowded. Among the 15 Democratic candidates are Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, digital creator Kat Abughazaleh and state Sen. Laura Fine. Four Republicans are running.
Another open seat is that of Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, who announced he would not seek reelection citing health reasons. The primary is uncontested after Garcia quietly schemed to place his chief of staff, Patty Garcia, who is not related to the congressman, on the ballot before a critical deadline. The move assured that no other Democrat would have time to circulate petitions. Then he withdrew.
Pritzker, an heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune who is unopposed in his primary, is the first governor to seek a third term since the 1980s.
One of President Donald Trump’s most vocal critics, Pritzker used a campaign ad this month to highlight efforts to oppose the aggressive federal immigration crackdown in Chicago last year.
“I will always stand up for the law and the Constitution,” he said. “Because that’s what we do in the state of Illinois.”
Pritzker has also made digs at Republican candidate Darren Bailey, a former state senator whom he handily defeated in 2022.
Bailey, among four Republicans vying for the nomination, says he is doing things differently. For one, he focused more on Chicago voters by choosing running mate Aaron Del Mar, who leads the Republican Party in Cook County.
Bailey has criticized Pritzker’s leadership, including blaming him for rising costs.
“He’s just another billionaire who has never once felt the pain he’s inflicted,” he said.
Also in the Republican primary are Ted Dabrowski, a real estate developer; Rick Heidner, a video gambling magnate; and DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick.
Associated Press journalists Mike Householder in Chicago and Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed.
Democratic candidate for Congress, Kat Abughazaleh smiles as she walks to vote on Election Day at Chicago Park District Loyola field house in Chicago, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), who is running in the Senate Democratic Primary Election, talks with election judges at Nerge Elementary School polling place in Schaumburg, Ill., Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Democratic candidate for Congress, Kat Abughazaleh, center, casts her vote in a primary election for the upcoming midterms, in Chicago, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Patty García speaks during a news conference to announce her candidacy for the fourth district congressional race, Nov. 12, 2025, in Cicero, Ill. (Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
