Voting begins in Texas as a Republican senator clings to Trump to keep his job

John Cornyn may be facing ‘biggest fight of his political life’, but Democrats may have already succeeded in giving the GOP more ground than it wants to protect, writes John Bowden NewsWorldAmericasUS politicsNews analysisVoting begins in Texas as a Republican senator clings to Trump to keep his jobJohn Cornyn may be facing ‘biggest fight of his political life’, but Democrats may have already succeeded in giving the GOP more ground than it wants to protect, writes John BowdenTuesday 17 February 2026 22:56 GMTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popoverTexas congressional races heating upYour support helps us to tell the storyRead moreSupport NowFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreA Republican senator who is one of the most senior members of his party in the chamber could be out of a job in a few weeks.The reason? Donald Trump.Voters in Texas began heading to the polls on Tuesday as early voting began in one of the most-watched states of the 2026 cycle. Both Democrats and Republicans are watching high-profile primaries play out in Texas as Sen. John Cornyn’s seat becomes one of a handful of key races that will decide control of the chamber next year.But more than most others, Cornyn’s race is defined by loyalty to the MAGA brand as well as fealty to the leader of that movement, Donald Trump. At a time when the MAGA brand is at its weakest since the immediate aftermath of January 6, the president’s coalition is still a sought-after commodity in deep-red Texas, especially as Cornyn fights tooth and nail against two Republican challengers seeking to leverage their own pro-Trump fervor against the senator’s.Donald Trump, on Sunday evening, tossed his final wrench into the machinery: A remark to reporters on Air Force One indicating that he would not endorse a specific candidate in the primary ahead of the March 3 election. While a loss for all three Republicans, it was particularly a blow to the hopes of Cornyn, who’d been publicly calling on the president to endorse him and is seeking to allay concerns about his MAGA bona fides.open image in galleryDonald Trump told reporters on Air Force One this weekend that he would not make a singular endorsement ahead of the Texas Senate primary election on March 3 (AP)If neither Cornyn nor one of his opponents, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton or Rep. Wesley Hunt, achieves 50 percent of the vote on March 3, the top two candidates will go to a runoff in May. That means that Cornyn likely has more time to compete for the MAGA base’s favor. It also means that both sides will have more time to pour money into their respective party squabbles, depleting donations that could be spent on other races around the country. Both the Democratic and Republican races are likely to head to a runoff, but spending on the Republican side has been far greater.A new poll last week found Paxton leading Cornyn by 7 percentage points. Another survey released on Monday found Paxton leading by 9 points.In short, Cornyn is in serious trouble. Democrats have taken notice: The party is open about its view that Paxton’s potential victory represents a clear opening for Democrats to win the seat in November, emboldened by memos from the GOP’s Senate campaign arm essentially declaring the same thing.On Tuesday, the DSCC released a memo trashing Cornyn as a weak incumbent and the GOP in “panic” mode about the bloody and detrimental fight that could cost the party a Senate seat.open image in gallerySen. John Cornyn heads into the final stretch of the first round of voting in the Texas primary trailing his closest opponent, Ken Paxton (Getty)Joshua Blank, research director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin, called the primary “the biggest fight of Cornyn’s political life” in an interview with Bloomberg.Cornyn’s campaign didn’t return a request for comment from The Independent regarding the memo. Already, the race is sapping money that could be used elsewhere: The New York Times reported this month that more than $50m has been spent by Cornyn’s allies on his behalf, dwarfing the sums being spent on the Democratic side.His team campaigned on Tuesday with former Gov. Rick Perry, who was Trump’s Energy secretary for two years during the president’s first term and is one of