2026-03-03T19:30:00-0500 / CBS新闻
周二举行的三场州级初选投票已结束，这标志着2026年中期选举周期正式拉开帷幕——此次选举可能凸显民主党和共和党内部关于两党未来发展的激烈辩论。
得克萨斯州、北卡罗来纳州和阿肯色州的初选正值关键节点：民主党试图重新夺回众议院和参议院控制权，而共和党则力争保住（或可能扩大）其微弱多数优势。值得注意的是，共和党面临着历史性逆风——通常，掌控白宫的政党在中期选举中会在众议院失去席位，尽管民主党今年同样面临参议院选情的严峻挑战。
在得克萨斯州，长期执政的共和党参议员约翰·科宁（John Cornyn）正面临党内挑战，试图保住席位。挑战他的包括总检察长肯·帕克斯顿（Ken Paxton），后者质疑科宁的保守派身份；以及众议员韦斯利·亨特（Wesley Hunt），他将科宁描述为“职业政客”。
在得克萨斯州参议院竞选中，民主党候选人同样面临激烈角逐，州众议员詹姆斯·塔拉利科（James Talarico）和美国众议员贾斯敏·克罗克特（Jasmine Crockett）正争夺民主党提名，两人都试图说服初选选民，自己能成为1990年代中期以来得州首位在全州范围内获胜的民主党人。
得克萨斯州的几个众议院选区也出现了竞争激烈的初选。共和党众议员托尼·冈萨雷斯（Tony Gonzales）再次遭遇强硬右翼枪支倡导者布兰登·赫雷拉（Brandon Herrera）的挑战——由于冈萨雷斯被指控与一名女助手有染，而该助手随后自杀身亡，这场初选近期风波不断。此外，共和党众议员丹·克伦肖（Dan Crenshaw）也需抵御州众议员史蒂夫·托特（Steve Toth）的初选挑战。
民主党方面，在共和党占绝对优势的第15选区，墨西哥裔美国音乐家博比·普利多（Bobby Pulido）与急诊医生艾达·奎利亚尔（Ada Cuellar）争夺民主党提名；而在休斯顿地区的选区（该选区因去年得州重新划分选区而大幅调整），连任11届的众议员阿尔·格林（Al Green）正与新当选的众议员克里斯蒂安·梅内菲（Christian Menefee）展开角逐。
与此同时，北卡罗来纳州的情况显示，CBS新闻预测，前民主党州长罗伊·库珀（Roy Cooper）和前共和党全国委员会主席迈克尔·惠特利（Michael Whatley）已赢得各自政党的参议院提名。共和党正全力捍卫该席位，这可能成为全国竞争最激烈的参议院初选之一。此外，该州第1选区的共和党提名竞争异常激烈，该选区因重新划分而使民主党面临更大挑战。
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阿肯色州方面，州长莎拉·赫卡比·桑德斯（Sarah Huckabee Sanders）在共和党初选中无人挑战，顺利获得提名；而民主党则有两名候选人角逐挑战她的资格。
Polls close in today’s primaries in Texas, North Carolina and Arkansas
2026-03-03T19:30:00-0500 / CBS News
Polls have closed in three states in a set of Tuesday primary elections that mark the start of the 2026 midterm cycle — and could highlight internal debates among both Democrats and Republicans over the future of their parties.
The primaries in Texas, North Carolina and Arkansas come as Democrats seek to retake the House and Senate, while Republicans vie to hold onto — or possibly expand — their narrow majorities. Republicans are facing historical headwinds as the party that controls the White House traditionally loses ground in the House during midterms, though Democrats are contending with a challenging Senate map this year.
In Texas, the longtime incumbent GOP Sen. John Cornyn is fighting to hold onto his seat amid primary challenges from Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has questioned Cornyn’s conservative credentials, and Rep. Wesley Hunt, who has cast Cornyn as a “career politician.”
In the Texas Senate contest, Democrats are also choosing between state Rep. James Talarico and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, both of whom are trying to convince primary voters that they’re capable of being the first Democrat to win a statewide race in Texas since the mid-1990s.
A handful of House districts in Texas also have competitive primaries. GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales is facing a repeat primary challenge from hard-right gun advocate Brandon Herrera that has been shaken up in recent weeks due to an alleged affair between Gonzales and a staffer who later died by suicide. Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw is also trying to fend off a primary challenge from state Rep. Steve Toth.
And on the Democratic side, Tejano musician Bobby Pulido is facing off against emergency physician Ada Cuellar for the party’s nomination in the heavily GOP-leaning 15th district, while 11-term incumbent Rep. Al Green is running against newly elected Rep. Christian Menefee in a Houston-area district that was reshaped by last year’s redistricting efforts in Texas.
Meanwhile in North Carolina, former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley won their parties’ Senate nominations, CBS News projected, as the GOP fights to hold onto the seat in what could be one of the country’s most heavily contested Senate primaries. And there’s a crowded field for the GOP nomination in the state’s 1st House district, which was redrawn and made more challenging for Democrats.
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In Arkansas, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders was running unopposed for the Republican nomination and two Democrats were facing off to take her on.