WaSHINGTON, DC – The US primary season launches on Tuesday, setting the stage for midterm elections that could reshape Washington’s balance of power — and determine the trajectory of President Donald Trump’s remaining time in office.
Some of the nation’s largest states — from Texas to North Carolina, Georgia and Illinois — will pick candidates for the US Congress in March’s first round of primaries, offering an early test of how both parties position themselves for Trump’s final two years.
Those candidates will face off in November’s midterms, which will decide whether Trump governs with a cooperative legislature or confronts a Democratic opposition able to block his agenda and open investigations into his administration.
The primaries will take place in the shadow of the US-Israel war on Iran, although it remains unclear whether the conflict – still in its very early stages – will impact Tuesday’s voting.
For Republicans — defending a 53–47 Senate majority and a razor-thin edge in the House of Representatives — the central concern is avoiding polarizing candidates who electrify the party base but alienate swing voters in November.
“All eyes are on Texas,” said Dan Scandling, of public affairs consultancy APCO, who spent a quarter century on Capitol Hill as chief of staff and communications director for Republican lawmakers.
“Republicans and Democrats both have candidates who many view as extreme and, depending on who comes out on top, could make either party vulnerable come November.”
The entire House and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate are up for grabs in November, along with 39 state and territorial governorships.
Texas is set to dominate the opening night, with fiercely contested Senate primaries in both parties that have drawn national attention as a preview of broader ideological and strategic fights.
The Republican primary pits four-term Senator John Cornyn against state attorney general Ken Paxton, a hardline Trump ally who has cultivated support — despite multiple ethics controversies — by channeling grassroots anger at Washington.
Congressman Wesley Hunt trails, courting pro-Trump voters uneasy with both men.
