Welcome to the Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025, Brew.
By: Lara Bonatesta
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- A look at who’s running for U.S. Senate in Texas
- Former Gov. Jim McGreevey and city council member James Solomon running in Jersey City mayoral runoff on Dec. 2
- This week, On the Ballot – Looking ahead to 2026 with Ballotpedia’s founder and CEO Leslie Graves
A look at who’s running for U.S. Senate in Texas
Texas is holding some of the nation’s earliest primaries with voters heading to the polls on March 3, 2026. Among those primaries are those for the Democratic and Republican nominations for U.S. Senate. The filing deadline is Dec. 8.
Incumbent John Cornyn (R), Wesley Hunt (R), Ken Paxton (R), and 10 other candidates are running in the Republican primary. Colin Allred (D), Emily Morgul (D), Michael Swanson (D), and James Talarico (D) are running in the Democratic primary.
If no candidate receives more than 50% of the primary vote, then the top two finishers will advance to a runoff on May 26, 2026.
Both primaries have received national media attention. Recent polling in the Republican primary has shown no candidate winning more than 50%. No statewide Republican primary in Texas has advanced to a runoff — required if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote — since 1994. On the Democratic side, Allred and Talarico have received the most media attention and spent the most money. Summarizing an interview with Democratic strategist Matt Angle, WFAA's Michael McCardel said, "Allred has more name recognition and Talarico is considered an underdog. But Talarico has a massive social media following Angle thinks will be important for fundraising and raising his profile.” Democrats have not won a statewide election in Texas since 1994.
As of Nov. 18, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, Inside Elections with Nathan Gonzales, and Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball each rated the general election Likely Republican. Texas held an election for its other U.S. Senate seat in 2024, when incumbent Ted Cruz (R) defeated Colin Allred (D) 53%–45%. In 2020, Cornyn defeated M.J. Hegar (D) 54%–44%.
The candidates mentioned below lead in polling, fundraising, endorsements, and media attention. Click here to see a full list of candidates as well as a list of people who have either discussed entering the race or received media attention over their potential entry.
Republican:
The Texas Tribune's Gabby Birenbaum described the primary as "expensive and brutal. Cornyn, a 23-year veteran of the Senate, has been in hot water with the Republican base over his efforts to pass a bipartisan gun safety bill in 2022 and past comments casting doubt on Trump’s political durability."
Meanwhile, Birenbaum also said Hunt would need to “outpace two opponents who have been elected statewide numerous times” and that some Republicans “fear Paxton could jeopardize the seat in a general election” due to “ethical and legal troubles” including “corruption allegations that were the subject of an impeachment effort and federal probe.”
Cornyn was first elected in 2002. He previously served as state attorney general and on the Texas Supreme Court. Cornyn's campaign website says he has a "more than 99.2% voting record with President Trump — higher than Ted Cruz." Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R) and the National Border Patrol Council endorsed Cornyn.
Hunt has represented the 38th Congressional District since 2022. He is a U.S. Army veteran and a former loan officer. Hunt says he is running because "nothing is more worth fighting for than our great country and our Texas values." U.S. Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) endorsed Hunt.
Paxton has served as Texas Attorney General since 2015. He was also a member of the Texas House for 10 years and of the Texas Senate for two. Paxton's campaign website says that both "President Trump and Ken Paxton have been targeted in politically motivated witch hunts because there’s nothing that scares the establishment more than courageous conservatives who never back down from standing up for the American people." U.S. Reps. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) and Troy Nehls (R-Texas) endorsed Paxton.
The Texas Tribune’s Owen Dahlkamp wrote that Paxton and Hunt are both positioning themselves as “anti-establishment MAGA warrior[s] made in the image of President Donald Trump’s Republican Party” and that Cornyn is “downplaying his old guard party credentials, instead highlighting his ties to Trump and the work he’s done for the president in the Senate.”
According to campaign reports filed with the FEC as of Sept. 30, the most recent reporting available:
- Cornyn had raised $9 million and spent $3.6 million,
- Hunt had raised $1.4 million and spent $2.3 million,
- Paxton had raised $4.2 million and spent $1 million.
Democratic:
Axios' Stephen Neukam described the primary as having "quickly turned into one of the most intriguing Democratic contests on the map next year."
Allred was Texas’ 2024 Democratic U.S. Senate nominee and is a former U.S. House member. That year, Allred won the Democratic primary with 58.9% of the vote. A former professional football player and civil rights attorney, Allred says he is running for Senate "to lower costs and stop corrupt politicians like John Cornyn and Ken Paxton from rigging the economy against hard working Texans."
Talarico was elected to the state House in 2018 and is a Presbyterian seminarian. Talarico was a middle school teacher before running for office. Talarico says he is running “to take his fight against corruption to Washington and win power back for working people.”
According to campaign reports filed with the FEC as of Sept. 30:
- Allred had raised $4.9 million and spent $3.1 million
- Talarico had raised $6.3 million and spent $1.3 million
Context
Both of Texas’ U.S. Senators are Republicans. The last Democrat to represent the state in the Senate was Robert Kruger (D), who left office in 1993. Texas' U.S. House delegation is composed of 25 Republicans and 12 Democrats.
Thirty-five states are holding elections for U.S. Senate in 2026. Two of those elections – in Florida and Ohio – are special elections.
Democrats are defending two seats in states that Donald Trump (R) won in the 2024 presidential election — Georgia and Michigan. Republicans are defending one seat in a state that Kamala Harris (D) won in the 2024 presidential election — Maine.
As of Nov. 3, eight incumbent Senators—four Democrats and four Republicans—have announced that they will not seek re-election in 2026.
Click here, here, and here to learn more about Texas’ Senate election and the Democratic and Republican primaries.
Former Gov. Jim McGreevey and city council member James Solomon running in Jersey City mayoral runoff on Dec. 2
James (Jim) McGreevey and James Solomon are running in the nonpartisan runoff general election for mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey, on Dec 2. Incumbent Steven Fulop ran in the Democratic gubernatorial primary instead of seeking a fourth term.
McGreevey and Solomon advanced to the runoff after neither received more than 50% of the vote in the general election on Nov. 4. Solomon received 29% of the vote, and McGreevey received 25% in a field of seven candidates. The last time that a Jersey City mayoral election ended in a runoff was in 2001.
While Jersey City municipal elections are officially nonpartisan, both McGreevey and Solomon identify as Democrats.
According to CBS News, "The race has focused on a slew of issues, including housing affordability, police and public safety reform and accountability, improving schools, fixing quality of life concerns such as traffic congestion and increasing government transparency."
McGreevey is the director of the New Jersey Reentry Corporation. He served as governor of New Jersey from 2002 to 2004, when he resigned after his homeland security adviser, Golan Cipel, said he would sue McGreevey for sexual harassment. McGreevey, who was married at the time, later said he had had an affair with Cipel and that he was being extorted. Before he was governor, McGreevey was also mayor of Woodbridge Township, New Jersey, from 1992 to 2002. McGreevey also served in the New Jersey Senate from 1994 to 1998 and the New Jersey General Assembly from 1990 to 1992.
McGreevey said that he’s “not running to build a political career, I’m running to fix the city I love. For four years, I’ll focus on the fundamentals: cleaner streets, safer neighborhoods, better schools, stronger senior services, and a city government that actually works for working families.”
Solomon was first elected to represent Ward E on the Jersey City Council in 2017. Previously, Solomon was an adjunct professor at multiple colleges in New Jersey and as an aide to the former Boston mayor, Thomas Menino.
Solomon said, “Jersey City needs change. It needs an affordable Jersey City and it’s not going to become affordable if we go back to the same corrupt machine playbook that has failed residents of Jersey City year after year after year.”
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D), Jersey City Council President Joyce Watterman, and Hudson County Executive Craig Guy (D) endorsed McGreevey. U.S. Sen. Andrew Kim (D), Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, and Hudson County Commissioner William O’Dea (D) endorsed Solomon.
Nineteen of the 100 most populous cities held mayoral elections on Nov. 4. No offices changed partisan control as a result of those elections.
The nonpartisan elections in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Miami, Florida, also advanced to runoff elections, both on Dec. 9.
Click here to learn more about the runoff in Jersey City and here to learn more about the results of the Nov. 4 mayoral elections.
This week, On the Ballot – Looking ahead to 2026 with Ballotpedia’s founder and CEO Leslie Graves
In our new episode of On The Ballot, host Norm Leahy and Ballotpedia’s founder and CEO Leslie Graves discuss what we have in store for 2026.
In addition to sharing how we are preparing for the midterm elections, expanding our comprehensive candidate coverage, and growing our volunteer program, Leslie talks about how Ballotpedia is celebrating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
This is the fifth installment of our monthly Office Hours series. To learn more about the series, click here. Plus, you can also click here to hear more from Leslie and to find a collection of her weekly Daily Brew.
To listen to this episode and more, click here. Also, don't forget to subscribe to On the Ballot on YouTube or your preferred podcast app.