Texas primaries: Paxton and Cornyn head to a runoff, Crockett trails Talarico and Crenshaw loses by double digits to Steve Toth

Primary elections in Texas left several open races and some clear trends in key races for the Senate, state attorney general, federal House, and governorship of 'The Lone Star State.'

In the Republican primary for the Senate, one of the most closely watched races of the night, Senator John Cornyn, who is seeking a fifth term, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton advanced to a runoff after leading in the preliminary count. Already the race was announced by AP and other news agencies. Cornyn, with 65% of the tables counted, was leading Paxton by less than two percentage points: 42.5%-40.8%.

In his first statements to the press, Cornyn harshly attacked Paxton: "I've worked for decades to build the Republican Party, both here in Texas and nationally. I refuse to allow a flawed, self-centered and shameless candidate like Ken Paxton to risk everything we've worked so hard to build over these many years."

Paxton, on the other hand, assured that in the runoff he will sweep and beat Cornyn by more than thirty points.

Federal Representative Wesley Hunt, who was also competing in the primary race, considered the most expensive in the history of the state, came in a distant third place, with 13% of the vote.

On the Democratic side of that same race, the primary remains relatively even. However, State Representative James Talarico holds a slight lead with about 51.8%, followed by federal Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett with about 46.9%.

Crockett, who is in serious trouble in this race, suggested to the press that the race may have been rigged. Some analysts and election experts have already called the race for Talarico.

Attorney general race

The Republican primary for Texas attorney general also points to a runoff.

State Sen. Mayes Middleton leads the count with about 40.6% with more than 67% of the precincts counted, followed by U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, with about 30.4%, putting both on track for a runoff.

Former Justice Department official Aaron Reitz was in third place with just over 14% of the vote.

Among Democrats, the count was still ongoing and it is still early to declare a definitive result. However, former Department of Homeland Security official Nathan Johnson was leading the preliminary count clearly, reaching 48.8% of the vote, followed by attorney Joe Jaworski and former state representative Anthony Box.

Logic prevails in the race for governor

In the Republican primary for governor, the Republican incumbent Greg Abbott was projected to win with a wide lead, exceeding 80% of the vote.

In the Democratic primary, Gina Hinojosa, chairwoman of the Texas Democratic Party and former Austin school board member, was projected as the winner of her race.

The two will square off in the general election.

Surprise in the House of Representatives

In the Texas District 2 Republican primary, Congressman Dan Crenshaw surprisingly fell behind state Rep. Steve Toth, who was leading with 57.6% to Crenshaw's 39.2%, a difference of more than 18 percentage points with 62% of the votes counted. The race was already called by several specialists.

Likewise, in Texas' 18th District, Democratic District 9 Representative Al Green is being defeated by incumbent Christian Menefee by more than four percentage points. It is still too early to announce the winner.

Many of the races are still developing. This article will be updated as results progress.