2026年3月2日 / 美国东部时间下午2:14 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
周二，三个州的选民将前往投票站，其中得克萨斯州一位四届现任参议员正试图抵御来自该州极具保守倾向的总检察长的初选挑战，而民主党人将选出自己的候选人，希望打破该州数十年来的失利记录。
北卡罗来纳州和阿肯色州也将举行相关竞选活动。以下是关于这些竞选的关键信息：
得克萨斯州参议院竞选
民主党自1994年以来首次试图赢得全州范围职位的努力，可能取决于哪些候选人能在周二的初选中脱颖而出——而两党间的党派内斗已持续数周，愈演愈烈。
最受关注的是共和党参议员约翰·科宁自2002年以来一直占据的参议院席位。科宁是华盛顿一位根基稳固的领导人，但他有可能成为2012年以来首位在党内初选中失去连任提名的在任议员。
共和党内部的动荡可能为民主党创造一个多年来他们都无法切实考虑的获胜机会——但他们的选民也因自己的初选而备受困扰，这场初选可能会颠覆左翼的势头。
2025年春季，得克萨斯州极具争议的总检察长肯·帕克斯顿宣布挑战科宁的席位，这一政治动态发生了重大转变。帕克斯顿在社交媒体公告中声称，”多年来，约翰·科宁一直背叛特朗普总统和美国优先运动”。
帕克斯顿曾在2023年被得克萨斯州众议院弹劾，但随后被州参议院无罪释放。他拥有明确的保守派支持基础，但也面临着能否在11月大选中获胜的重大质疑。
近一年来——以及数百万美元的政治支出之后——科宁不仅要抵御帕克斯顿的挑战，还要克服共和党众议员韦斯利·亨特作为后起之秀的参选压力，同时为自己的连任辩护，强调”代际变革”的必要性。
“24年已经够久了！得克萨斯人已经受够了约翰·科宁这样的职业政客，”亨特在2026年2月的社交媒体帖子中表示。
如果没有人能获得多数选票，初选很可能在5月底由得票最高的两名候选人进行决选，这意味着现任科宁甚至可能无法进入决选阶段。
“如果总检察长出现在选票首位——而参议院竞选正是如此——我们将在选举日遭遇惨败。各级共和党候选人都将为背负我们腐败总检察长这一’死重’付出代价，”科宁在2026年2月的竞选活动中说道。”他不仅会危及参议院席位。得克萨斯州自1994年以来就没有输掉过全州选举，但如果今年的候选人名单中出现错误，我们可能会在今年失利。”
特朗普总统尚未支持这三位主要共和党候选人中的任何一位。
民主党在同一个席位上也面临着紧张的党内初选，这场初选已演变成一场进步派内部的对峙——两派就如何在一个已经失去影响力的州获胜产生分歧。州众议员詹姆斯·塔拉利科正与美国众议员贾丝明·克罗克特的后期参选形成竞争。
“我们国家最大的分歧不是左派与右派，而是上层与底层。亿万富翁希望我们互相左右张望，而不是抬头看他们，”塔拉利科在竞选视频中表示。
两人之间的竞争已成为一个关于能否在一个数十年来未选出民主党参议员的州赢得选民支持的焦点。
“我们获胜的道路是触及那些被忽视、被欺凌或被排斥在政治进程之外的人，”克罗克特在2025年12月宣布参选后在社交媒体上表示。
值得注意的是，克罗克特的竞选活动得到了一些共和党人的支持，因为他们认为她在今年秋季的大选中比塔拉利科更容易被击败。
在2024年总统选举中，民主党在失去参议院、白宫控制权以及未能重新夺回众议院后，很明显，左翼重返权力的道路可能来自于在过去十年中被该党品牌疏远的地区。然而，这种信息传递的形式可能会受到该党在得克萨斯州初选中表现的影响——该州庞大的拉丁裔人口可能对中期选举产生重要影响。
在得克萨斯州，几位现任共和党众议员也面临着初选挑战，结果可能在周二投票结束后公布，或进入5月底的决选阶段。
得克萨斯州众议院竞选
共和党众议员托尼·冈萨雷斯在该州第23选区面临来自2024年以微弱优势击败的极右翼候选人布兰登·埃雷拉的再次挑战。但冈萨雷斯目前正面临涉及一名随后自杀身亡的工作人员的不当行为指控。
在该州第二选区，现任共和党众议员丹·克伦肖正面临来自州众议员史蒂夫·托斯的右翼初选挑战。值得注意的是，克伦肖未得到特朗普总统的支持，而他的主要挑战者得到了该州保守派参议员泰德·克鲁兹的支持。
得克萨斯州共和党主导的重新划分选区工作针对五个民主党席位，试图使其更有利于共和党，这也影响了左翼的三场重要初选。在第18选区，现任民主党众议员阿尔·格林正与赢得最近特别选举的众议员克里斯蒂安·梅内菲展开竞争。
重新划定的国会选区边界也迫使得克萨斯州民主党众议员朱莉·约翰逊竞选另一个席位。她现在面临着前众议员科林·奥尔雷德的挑战——奥尔雷德在2024年参议院竞选中未能击败克鲁兹。
在得克萨斯州南部，著名的特哈诺音乐家博比·普利多正面临更自由派候选人艾达·奎利亚尔的挑战，试图在该州保守派占据的第15国会选区进入大选阶段。
北卡罗来纳州和阿肯色州
周二，阿肯色州也将举行相关竞选活动，而作为总统选战战场的北卡罗来纳州则更接近今年秋季预期的关键参议院竞选。
预计大量政治资金将流向北卡罗来纳州参加今年秋季的中期选举。前民主党州长罗伊·库珀代表了民主党最直接的机会之一，以夺回共和党控制的参议院席位。他在该席位的初选中面临少数名不见经传的挑战者，但预计这些挑战者不会使竞选竞争激烈。
在共和党方面，迈克尔·惠特利辞去共和党全国委员会主席职务，转而竞选美国参议院，并获得了特朗普的支持。和库珀一样，他也面临一些初选对手，这些对手缺乏惠特利竞选所需的机构支持。
然而，这个南部州正在一个安全的蓝色席位中出现一场潜在的竞争性国会初选。联邦记录显示，大量外部资金正试图帮助现任众议员瓦莱丽·富谢，而她在达勒姆地区的选区正面临进步派候选人尼达·阿拉姆的挑战。
这次初选可能成为2026年中期选举中安全蓝色席位上的老牌民主党人和敦促民主党更积极斗争的年轻党员之间的第一个主要紧张点。
Texas, North Carolina and Arkansas are holding primaries Tuesday. Here’s what to know
March 2, 2026 / 2:14 PM EST / CBS News
Voters in three states will be going to the polls on Tuesday, with a four-term incumbent senator in Texas seeking to fend off a primary challenge from his state’s starkly conservative attorney general while Democrats will be choosing their own candidate in hopes of breaking their decadeslong losing streak in the state.
There will also be contests held in North Carolina and Arkansas. Here’s what to know about the races:
Texas senate race
Democrats’ attempt to win statewide office for the first time since 1994 may hinge on which candidates make it out of Tuesday’s primaries where partisan infighting on both sides has spiraled for weeks.
At the top of mind is the Senate seat held since 2002 by GOP Sen. John Cornyn, a well established leader in Washington who’s at risk of becoming the first elected incumbent in the chamber since 2012 to lose his nomination for re-election.
That turmoil on the Republican side may create an opening for Democrats to win in a way they haven’t been able to realistically consider in years- but their voters are also being roiled by a primary of their own that could upend momentum on the left.
Political dynamics in Texas shifted considerably in spring 2025 when the state’s controversial attorney general Ken Paxton announced he would challenge Cornyn for control of the seat, alleging in his social media announcement that “for years, John Cornyn has betrayed President Trump and the America First movement.”
Paxton, who was impeached by the Texas House and then acquitted by the state Senate in 2023, has a clear base of conservative support but also faces major questions about his ability to win November.
Nearly a year — and millions of dollars in political spending — later, Cornyn is attempting to not only stave off Paxton, but also overcome the late insurgent candidacy of Republican congressman Wesley Hunt as he makes a case for generational change.
“24 years is long enough! Texans have moved on from career politicians like John Cornyn,” Hunt posted on social media in February 2026.
There appears to be a strong likelihood that if no one is able to come away with the majority of the vote, the primary will lead to a late May runoff between the top two finishers, carrying the potential that the incumbent Cornyn may not end up making it even that far.
“If the attorney general is at the top of the ballot, which is where the Senate race will be, we will have an Election Day massacre. Republicans up and down the ticket will pay the price of having an albatross like our corrupt Attorney General hung around their neck,” Cornyn said during a February 2026 campaign appearance. “He will jeopardize not only the Senate seat. We haven’t lost a statewide election in Texas since 1994, but we could this year if the wrong person is at the top of the ticket.”
President Trump has also not endorsed any one of the three main Republican contenders.
Democrats are facing a tense primary of their own for the same seat, in what has become a progressive versus progressive standoff over how to win in a place where the party has lost ground and influence. State Rep. James Talarico is contending with a late announced primary challenge from U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett.
“The biggest divide in our country is not left versus right, it’s top versus bottom. Billionaires want us looking left and right at each other so that we’re not looking up at them,” Talarico has said in a campaign video.
The contest between the two has become a flashpoint on electability and ability to appeal to voters in a state that hasn’t sent a Democrat to the Senate in decades.
“Our path to victory is through reaching the people who’ve been ignored, bullied, or pushed out of the process,” Crockett said on social media after announcing her run in December.
It’s also notable that Crockett’s campaign has been cheered by some Republicans at a time when she is viewed as potentially being easier to defeat than Talarico in this fall’s general elections.
After Democrats lost the Senate, White House and failed to retake the House in the 2024 presidential election, it has become clear that the left’s path back to power will likely come from winning in parts of the country that have been alienated by the party’s brand over the last decade. What form that messaging takes however may be influenced by how the party performs in primaries like the one playing out in Texas on Tuesday, where the state’s large Latino population could be influential in the midterms.
Down ballot several incumbent Texas Republicans are also facing primary challenges of their own that could be decided after polls close on Tuesday or may head to the late May runoff.
House races in Texas
GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales in the state’s 23rd congressional district is contending with a repeat challenger from a far right candidate named Brandon Herrera he narrowly defeated in 2024. But Gonzales is now contending with misconduct allegations involving a staffer who later died by suicide.
And in the state’s second district, incumbent Republican congressman Dan Crenshaw is facing a primary challenge from the right in the form of State Rep. Steve Toth. Crenshaw notably has not been endorsed by President Donald Trump while his main challenger is being supported by the state’s conservative U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.
The Republican-led redistricting effort in Texas, which targeted five Democratic seats in an attempt to make them more favorable to the GOP, has also impacted a trio of notable primaries on the left. In the 18th district, incumbent Democratic Rep. Al Green is running against congressman Christian Menefee who won a recent special election.
Redrawn congressional boundaries also pushed Texas Democratic Rep. Julie Johnson to campaign for a different seat. She is now facing Collin Allred, a former congressman who fell short of defeating Cruz in a 2024 Senate contest.
And in south Texas, famous Tejano musician Bobby Pulido is contending with a more liberal focused challenge from candidate Ada Cuellar to try and make it to the general election in the state’s conservative held 15th congressional district.
North Carolina and Arkansas
Elsewhere on Tuesday, Arkansas is holding contests as well while the presidential battleground of North Carolina moves closer to what is expected to be a crucial Senate race this fall.
Hefty political spending is already expected to head to North Carolina for this fall’s midterms, where former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper represents one of his party’s most straightforward chances at winning back a GOP-held seat in the Senate. He is facing a handful of lesser known challengers in the primary for this seat, but none are expected to make the race very competitive.
On the GOP side, Michael Whatley left his role as chairman of the Republican National Committee to run for the U.S. Senate and has Mr. Trump’s support. Like Cooper, he’s also facing a handful of primary opponents that lack the institutional support Whatley has for his run.
The southern state is however seeing a potentially competitive congressional primary in a safe blue seat. Federal records show major outside money is attempting to help incumbent Rep. Valerie Foushee as she faces a progressive challenge from candidate Nida Allam in a Durham-area district.
The primary here may serve as the first major tension point in the 2026 midterms between established Democrats in safe blue seats and younger members of the party urging that they want Democrats to fight more.