Party primaries for this year’s midterm elections will start this week with contests in Texas and North Carolina that could decide who controls the House and Senate.
Democrats have a chance to take control of the House by flipping a handful of seats, and are optimistic about their chances in the Senate, too. But primaries starting this week will give the first indications of how realistic that will be.
The most high-profile election Tuesday is Texas’ Senate race, where Republican Sen. John Cornyn, a longtime ally of the oil and natural gas industry, is seeking a fifth term, but being challenged by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the GOP primary.
The oil and gas sector has shown a preference for Cornyn in campaign contributions. But polling has been less clear, with most showing a neck-and-neck race or Paxton with a slight lead.
Rep. Wesley Hunt, a member of the House Natural Resources Committee, is also running in the GOP primary, but lags far behind the other two hopefuls in polling.
President Donald Trump has not endorsed in the primary. Cornyn is getting support from Republican leaders and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
The GOP nominee is favored to win in the November general election. But Democrats nonetheless have a competitive primary of their own: Rep. Jasmine Crockett is leading state Sen. James Talarico in recent polling.
Both Democratic candidates said at a recent debate that they would work to protect communities from energy and environmental harms from data centers.
“We have to make sure that we protect the people who live in these communities first from these dangers,” Crockett said. “We don’t know if our grid is going to hold up. And we’re talking about these data centers that are actually pulling on us even more. So what we’ve got to do is, again, make sure that we put a framework around these.”
Talarico said he heard robust calls on a recent visit to Amarillo to take strong action on data centers, particularly around their use of water for cooling.
“I will fight to make sure that these AI companies pay for their own energy and they don’t pass it along to consumers. And I will make sure that we work on sustainable water infrastructure. Because Texas is running out of water and these data centers are exacerbating that problem,” he said.
Elsewhere in Texas, Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw is being challenged by state Rep. Steve Toth, who accuses him of not being conservative enough. GOP Sen. Ted Cruz is among Toth’s supporters.
Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales may also be at risk, due to an alleged affair he had last year with a staff member who later died by suicide. His primary challengers include social media commentator Brandon Herrera and former Rep. Quico Canseco.
Among Democratic incumbents, Reps. Al Green, Christian Menefee and Julie Johnson are also at risk. Green and Menefee — the latter just arrived on Capitol Hill last month via a special election — are running in the same Houston-based district, due to the GOP’s redistricting last year that was designed to give Republicans more seats.
Johnson is being challenged by former Rep. Colin Allred, who gave up his House seat in 2024 when he mounted a failed challenge to Cruz.
North Carolina
In North Carolina, primary voters will be setting the race to replace outgoing Sen. Thom Tillis (R). Former Gov. Roy Cooper is the Democratic frontrunner and former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley — who has also been an energy lobbyist — is leading the GOP pack.
Separately, incumbent Democratic Rep. Valerie Foushee is being challenged by progressive Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam. Allam’s supporters include independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and the Sunrise Movement.
“Nida Allam is for the Green New Deal, abolishing ICE, and fixing our broken democracy. Her opponent, Valerie Foushee, has gotten millions of dollars in support from AIPAC, Trump donors, and data center billionaires,” Sunrise said of the race.
Allam leveled similar criticisms in a recent debate hosted by Chapel Hill radio station WCHL. Foushee pointed to her support for the Green New Deal and bills like H.R. 1534, the “Innovative Mitigation Partnerships for Asphalt and Concrete Technologies (IMPACT) Act.”
“Being a member of Congress isn’t just about voting against the bills that I disagree with. It is also about maximizing positive outcomes for my constituents, even if a bill I disagree with passes,” Foushee said.
