Primaries: MAGA rolls; GOP establishment takes a beating; Democrats? Leftward ho!

by WorldTribune Staff, March 4, 2026 Real World News

Political junkies had plenty to devour in Tuesday’s primaries. From MAGA candidates taking out GOP establishment figures, to Democrats fighting to decide who is further to the left, and even a niqab-wearing candidate being named the Republican candidate in a North Carolina state senate race.

Texas GOP Rep. Dan Crenshaw, left, was defeated in Tuesday’s primary by Trump-endorsed Steve Toth.

In the Texas Second District, Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw, seeking a fifth House term, was defeated in by Trump-endorsed state Rep. Steve Toth, who in his campaign said that Crenshaw was not conservative enough for the district, comparing Crenshaw to a “version of Liz Cheney.”

Crenshaw was the only House Republican in Texas not to receive an endorsement from President Donald Trump for the 2026 primary cycle.

Crenshaw’s defeat is also a victory for Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who last week came out against his congressional colleague and endorsed Toth.

Toth will take on Democratic nominee and investment banker Shaun Finnie, who ran unopposed in the primary, during November’s general election to be the next Representative of Texas’s 2nd Congressional District covering parts of the greater Houston and surrounding areas.

In the U.S. Senate primary in Texas, GOP incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton were locked in a near dead heat. Since neither received 50% of the vote, they are scheduled to head into a May runoff.

Trump, however, said in a post to Truth Social on Wednesday that he would like to see the candidate he hasn’t endorsed drop out before the runoff.’

Trump wrote:

“The Republican Primary Race for the United States Senate in the Great State of Texas, a State I LOVE and won 3 times in Record Numbers (the HIGHEST vote ever recorded, by far!!!), cannot, for the good of the Party, and our Country, itself, be allowed to go on any longer. IT MUST STOP NOW! We have an easy to beat, Radical Left Opponent, and we have to TOTALLY FOCUS on putting him away, quickly and decisively! Both John and Ken ran great races, but not good enough. Now, this one, must be PERFECT! My Endorsements within the Republican Party have been virtually insurmountable! It is such an honor to realize and say that almost everyone I Endorse WINS, and wins by a lot, especially in Texas! I will be making my Endorsement soon, and will be asking the candidate that I don’t Endorse to immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE! Is that fair? We must win in November!!!”

The “radical left” opponent Trump was referring to is Democrat primary winner Jim Talarico, a state representative who defeated far-left Rep. Jasmine Crockett on Tuesday night.

How far left is Talarico?

He once said: “God is non-binary.”

After his win over Crockett on Tuesday, Talarico said: “This is proof that there is something happening in Texas tonight. Tonight, the people of our state gave this country a little bit of hope, and a little bit of hope is a dangerous thing,”

Elsewhere in Texas, the Democrat primary for the re-drawn 18th District, Reps. Al Green, 78, and Christian Menefee, 37, are set for a runoff after being forced to fight for one Houston-based seat.

In the Republican primary in the Lone Star state’s 23rd District, Rep. Tony Gonzales will go to a runoff with Second Amendment proponent Brandon Herrera. Gonzales faces a House Ethics probe over an alleged affair with a staffer who died by suicide.

In the Democrat primary in the state’s 33rd District, freshman Rep. Julie Johnson is facing a runoff with former Rep. Colin Allred, who had millions to spend from his abandoned Senate bid.

In North Carolina’s 4th District Democrat primary, incumbent leftist Rep. Valerie Foushee is looking to fend off a challenge from Nida Allam, who analysts say is even farther left. The race is reportedly tight enough that a recount is likely.

In the race to fill the seat of retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis, former Gov. Roy Cooper won the Democrat nomination while former RNC Chairman Michael Whatley was named the Republican nominee. The two will face off in the November midterms.

Also in North Carolina, there’s this:

2026 Contract With Our Readers

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