Ashley Lopez

So the Senate races are really where the fight is and ultimately where you can maybe draw some insights into what voters in each party may be looking for at the start of this midterm season.

What should we know about the Democratic race?

Sure.

So the frontrunners in that race are Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett and James Tallarico, who is a state lawmaker from the Austin area.

Going into this, Crockett was perhaps the most well-known candidate of the two in her time in Congress.

She's been known for verbally sparring with Republicans in the House.

A common complaint about the Democratic Party from its base voters is that party leaders have been weak in their response to Trump since he took office again, and Crockett has positioned herself as a fighter.

Yeah, well, Tyler Rico has said he sees himself as a fighter too, but his style is definitely different.

When he was first elected to the Texas House, he flipped a traditionally Republican seat.

And a big part of how he campaigns is trying not to alienate independent and even conservative voters in some cases.

He's a seminarian, so he invokes his Christian faith a lot, which could appeal to some voters Democrats don't typically speak to.

So I think just in terms of personalities and the way these two candidates talk are pretty different, but I don't think what they are actually saying is...

is all that different because when it comes to most issues and policies, Crockett and Tallarico largely agree.

Yeah.

So this primary is centered around the question of which Republican is the most Trump aligned.

Cornyn was elected in 2002, which his opponents say make him like a conservative from a different time.

Although Cornyn often points out that he votes with Trump consistently.

Ken Paxton, Texas's attorney general for the past decade, is his most formidable opponent, and he has been mired in legal troubles.

for years, but he has said that like Trump, most of that has been political.

The other Republican running is Congressman Wesley Hunt, who has been polling third in the race, but garnering enough support that, I mean, it is likely this race could head to a runoff.