海角大神

Voters in Texas will usher in the聽midterm campaign season聽with primaries that will test just how聽far to the right聽the Republican Party will shift in a state where many in the GOP have already tightened their embrace of former President Donald Trump.

Incumbent Republican Gov.聽Greg Abbott聽appears well positioned to secure his party鈥檚 nomination for another term after Tuesday鈥檚 voting. Starting the campaign with more than $50 million, he has built hard-line positions on guns, immigration, and abortion.

The GOP primary for attorney general may be more competitive as incumbent聽Ken Paxton聽seeks a third term in office. He鈥檚 facing several challengers, including Texas Land Commissioner聽George P. Bush聽and U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, who are vowing to restore order to the office. Mr. Paxton led a failed lawsuit to overturn the 2020 election and has for years faced securities fraud charges and an FBI investigation into corruption allegations. He has broadly denied wrongdoing.

Democrats face challenges of their own after nearly three decades of statewide losses. Former U.S. Rep.聽Beto O鈥橰ourke聽has little competition for the party鈥檚 nomination for governor, but he faces uphill odds going into the fall. Nine-term U.S. Rep.聽Henry Cuellar, meanwhile, is hoping to avoid becoming the first Democratic member of Congress to lose a primary this year. He鈥檚 facing a much-watched challenge from progressive rival Jessica Cisneros and contending with the fallout of a recent FBI raid on his home. Mr. Cuellar has denied any wrongdoing.

Still, in America鈥檚 largest Republican state, much of the focus will be on the GOP鈥檚 rightward lurch. The evolution is especially pronounced in Texas, where rapid growth 鈥� driven by more than 4 million new residents 鈥� has shifted once solidly red suburbs away from Republicans. But the GOP has countered that with redrawn maps that left fewer competitive congressional districts along with dramatic聽new restrictions to voting.

Already, thousands of mail-in ballot applications 鈥� and actual ballots 鈥� have been rejected under the state鈥檚 new requirements. Most of those were due to voters not including newly mandated identification, worrying local elections officials that many won鈥檛 correct problems to have their vote count.

鈥淛ust common sense will tell you there is going to be a number of people who don鈥檛 cure that ballot,鈥� said Bruce Sherbert, the nonpartisan election administrator in Collin County, which is in Dallas鈥� northern suburbs.

This year鈥檚 primary season is beginning at a pivotal moment in American life.

The U.S. is steadily moving out of the deepest lows of a聽pandemic聽that has raged for nearly two years. But that鈥檚 tempered by inflation reaching a decades-high level and a聽burgeoning war in Europe. And there are persistent questions about the country鈥檚 commitment to basic democratic principles after many GOP leaders have tied themselves to Mr. Trump鈥檚 lie that the 2020 election was stolen聽鈥� a phenomenon especially acute in Texas.

鈥淭here really isn鈥檛 a candidate on the Republican side who is someone who is standing up for the rule of law and supporting the fact that the 2020 election was free and fair and accurate,鈥� said Christine Todd Whitman, a former Republican governor of New Jersey who is critical of Mr. Trump and is the co-chair of States United Democracy Center, a nonprofit that works to safeguard elections. 鈥淚t鈥檚 Texas. What can I say?鈥�

Still, the results Tuesday could have lasting implications. After Texas, primaries in other states won鈥檛 resume until May. That means results here could be viewed for months as a measure of the nation鈥檚 political mood.

Republicans are betting that Tuesday will be the first step toward them easily retaking Congress in November, pointing to President Joe Biden鈥檚聽low approval ratings,聽spiking inflation,聽and the anger about the chaotic withdrawal of聽U.S. forces from Afghanistan.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how you can fix the incompetence issue,鈥� Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer, head of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a recent interview. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 going away.鈥�

History is also on the GOP鈥檚 side. The party controlling the White House has lost congressional seats in the first midterm race every election cycle this century except in 2002, amid the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, under President George W. Bush.

But the fight over the party鈥檚 future is much fiercer than it was 20 years ago.

U.S. Rep. Van Taylor of North Texas, for instance, has become a target for some on the right after he voted to certify Mr. Biden鈥檚 electoral victory and to create an independent commission to investigate last year鈥檚 insurrection on聽Jan. 6. The Republican now faces four primary challengers who have largely refused to accept Mr. Biden鈥檚 victory and have tried to minimize the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Businesswoman Suzanne Harp, one of the Republicans aiming to unseat Mr. Taylor, says the left 鈥渋s using the divisive language of 鈥榙omestic terrorism鈥� to subvert attention away from the fraudulent election鈥� and ultimately trying to ensure 鈥淧resident Trump can never run for political office again.鈥�

One of the most storied dynasties in Republican politics could also reach its end Tuesday. George P. Bush, whose father was Florida governor and whose uncle and grandfather were president, is the last of his family in office but聽may not be able to garner enough support to force聽a runoff against Mr. Paxton, who has been endorsed by Mr. Trump.

National Democrats say Mr. Trump鈥檚 still-outsize GOP influence and an economy roaring back from the pandemic may help them counter political precedent. Still, disagreements between the party鈥檚 progressive and more moderate congressional wings helped doom Build Back Better, a sweeping, Biden-backed spending and social programs package.

Ms. Cisneros is one of three Texas progressives who could secure Democratic nominations in House districts blue enough to all but guarantee they鈥檒l be headed to Congress.

A 28-year-old immigration attorney who supports fully government-funded health care under Medicare for All, Ms. Cisneros nearly toppled Mr. Cuellar during Texas鈥� 2020 primary. She still has to overcome long-serving Mr. Cuellar鈥檚 strong name recognition, though.

Ms. Cisneros has been endorsed by progressive stalwarts Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who campaigned with her and with Greg Casar, an Austin City Council member who championed a $15 citywide minimum wage and is favored to win the Democratic nomination for an open House seat representing Texas鈥� capital.

In Dallas, civil rights attorney and state lawmaker Jasmine Crockett has denounced 鈥減uppets鈥� of the Democratic establishment and is running for a seat being vacated by longtime congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, who has endorsed her.

Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party advocacy group, which has joined leading national progressive organizations in endorsing Ms. Cisneros, Mr. Casar, and Ms. Crockett, said all three are young and championed by grassroots organizers in their deeply diverse communities. He said they prove progressive ideas can be popular in a conservative state like Texas and, rather than fueling intraparty squabbles, all might energize Democratic voters.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e both rising stars for the progressive movement and rising stars for the Democratic Party,鈥� Mr. Mitchell said. 鈥淚f you want to push back on those historical headwinds, you need to be able to produce candidates that can animate your base. And these are three candidates that can do that.鈥�

This story was reported by The Associated Press.聽Associated Press writer Acacia Coronado in Austin, Texas, contributed to this report.