Midterm election season kicks off Tuesday with the Texas Senate race capturing the nation’s attention for its blistering Republican infighting and record-breaking ad spending with some seeing the potential for the race to deliver Texas Democrats a statewide victory for the first time in decades.

In a rare competitive Democratic Senate primary, State Rep. James Talarico and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett are facing off for their party’s nomination, while the three-way Republican battle between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, state Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt is likely to go to a runoff. 

This comes as control of Congress hangs in the balance one year into the second term of President Donald Trump, who hasn’t made an endorsement in the Senate race. Republicans are keen on maintaining their slim majority while Democrats are eager to defy historical trends with affordability and immigration top of mind, especially given Texas’ position as a border state. 

According to tracking firm AdImpact, this is the “most expensive Senate primary on record,” with over $122 million dedicated to ad spending and reservations.

The election season will see several fiercely competitive primaries that show deep divides within the both the Republican and Democratic parties.

Republican race: Nothing short of vitriol 

Cornyn, who is endorsed by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, is seeking his fifth term. He faces stiff competition from Paxton, who has served as attorney general for more than a decade. 

The Republican race has been nothing short of vitriol, especially between Cornyn and Paxton. Cornyn has argued that a Paxton primary victory will hurt the party’s chances in the general election, telling ABC News Chief Washington correspondent and “This Week” co-anchor Jon Karl last week that Paxton will be “like a dead weight around the whole ticket.”

Cornyn has also gone after Paxton for his alleged infidelity, his pending divorce and his 2023 impeachment trial, with a pro-Cornyn PAC recently accusing Paxton of being a “wife-cheater” and a “fraud.” Paxton, on the other hand, has accused Cornyn of running a “kamikaze campaign” that he says will ultimately help Democrats.

The third candidate locked in the tight GOP battle, 44-year-old Hunt, was first elected to Congress in 2022 and has capitalized on his political newcomer status as a central point of his campaign.

All three Republicans are emphasizing their closeness with Trump and their commitment to furthering his agenda, though Cornyn’s opponents criticize the senator for not being aligned enough with the president. Cornyn says he’s voted with Trump 99% of the time.

Despite their differences, all three candidates praised Trump’s leadership for the attacks his administration launched against Iran over the weekend.

The race will be a key test of the power of MAGA Republicans to oust established incumbents. The only other Republican Senate incumbent not to be endorsed by Trump in this cycle is Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who voted to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Trump has endorsed his primary opponent, Congresswoman Julia Letlow. 

Trump teases an endorsement

The president has made it clear that he is keeping a close eye on Texas primary elections but a lack of an endorsement leaves the three candidates to navigate tight polls without his help.

Trump visited the state on Friday where he shouted-out Cornyn, Paxton and Hunt during his remarks, before showering each with praise. Though the president endorsed Cornyn during his reelection bid in 2020, he emphasized Friday that all three Republicans are “excellent people” and are his “friends.” 

In an interview with ABC affiliate KIII after the event, Trump said he “probably will” announce his preference soon, before teasing that “maybe [he’ll] wait till after the primary.” 

Trump won Texas by almost 14 percentage points in 2024, and just over 5 points in 2020.  

Democratic race: A fighter vs. a healer 

With Crockett and Talarico considered to be rising stars in their party, Democrats are hopeful for a chance to flip the seat — something that has not been considered a possibility since Beto O’Rourke’s Senate run in 2018. The energy is evidenced by the state’s high Democratic voter turnout in the primary, with early voting already exceeding the total votes cast in the 2024 and 2018 Democratic Senate primaries. 

The primary has also become a proxy war for the larger identity crisis facing the Democratic Party in the age of Trump. 

Crockett, who was elected in 2022 to represent Texas’ 30th District and is boasting an endorsement from former Vice President Kamala Harris, touts her experience in Congress and her affinity to square off in fiery debates with Republicans, creating a platform that is centered around her “fighter” mentality. 

“People are saying we’re looking for a fighter. And I think that right now, everyone knows that I’m a proven fighter,” Crockett told ABC News. Her candidacy comes as the Democratic Party has been criticized by its base for a perceived lack of action against the Trump administration.

Her opponent, Talarico, has placed a greater emphasis on a message of unity and healing, working on outreach to Trump voters and rural communities. Unlike Crockett, Talarico’s ads also rarely mention Trump. Speaking to Karl ahead of the primary, Talarico emphasized the need to “talk about something else,” arguing that people are “tired of talking about President Trump.” 

The 36-year-old former middle school teacher was elected to the state legislature in 2018 and is known for his blending of Christian faith with progressive policies, with a particular emphasis on fighting back against the billionaire class.

Both Democratic candidates opposed Trump’s strikes on Iran, but while Crockett attacked the president personally for not following the law, Talarico, declared, “No more forever wars.”

Despite the already-high voter turnout and the candidates’ high-profile campaigns, the race remains an uphill battle as no Democrat has been elected to statewide office in Texas since 1994.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story reported that Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, had endorsed Cornyn in the Republican Senate primary in Texas. Cruz has not endorsed a candidate in the race.