Dan Pfeiffer: “First, turnout was quite high — and it wasn’t just the total number. It was the enthusiasm, as measured by the fact that Democrats cast more early votes in the Senate primary than Republicans, even though the GOP had its own high-profile primary. Democrats are on pace to meet or exceed Republicans in total votes cast in a state Trump won by 14 points.”

“Approximately 400,000 Texans voted in a Democratic primary for the first time. That is not a small thing.”

“Second, Talarico won this primary because of his performance with Latino voters. No exit poll data, but he did very well in Latino-heavy counties along the Rio Grande Valley and in precincts in Harris County.”

“Finally, I have a lot of faith in Talarico. He is designed in a lab to be the Democrat we need to win Texas. This primary — against a candidate as strong as Crockett — tested him and strengthened his campaign. If he can hold Latino voters and win over Republicans, he has a real path to victory.”

Politico: “While the outcome wasn’t shocking, the confirmation of a May 26 runoff between Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton confirmed the fears of many Republicans who now face a likely scorched-earth campaign that could seriously hobble the victor in November’s general election and drain resources from tough races in places like North Carolina and Maine.”

“Democrats, meanwhile, are seeing their dream scenario play out: State Rep. James Talarico has defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett outright in the Democratic primary, giving the candidate many strategists see as the party’s best chance to finally turn the Lone Star State blue a clear path to November.”

G. Elliot Morris: Six data-driven reasons Texas could actually go blue in 2026.

“On the final day of filing for Montana’s 2026 elections, former University of Montana president Seth Bodnar confirmed he is jumping into the race for U.S. Senate as an independent candidate,” KXLH reports.

Playbook: “The former University of Montana president, Green Beret and Rhodes scholar epitomizes a new approach — one apparently encouraged by former Sen. Jon Tester — for challenging Republicans in states where the Democratic brand has become toxic.”

“Steve Toth, a hard-line conservative Texas state representative, defeated Representative Dan Crenshaw in a close-fought Republican primary on Tuesday that will sweep from the House a former Navy SEAL who has occasionally broken with fellow Republicans,” the New York Times reports.

“In unofficial results with all precincts reporting, just two votes separate the leader of the North Carolina Senate, Phil Berger, and his challenger in the Republican primary election, Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page,” the Raleigh News and Observer reports.

Playbook: “Berger is by some measures considered the most powerful man in North Carolina.”

Playbook: “Two months into 2026, and Trump has held four ‘affordability’ rallies. He’s made a handful of policy announcements on the cost of living. And he’s launched a stunning military operation in Venezuela, a hyper-aggressive immigration drive in Minnesota that left two Americans dead, caused a major diplomatic incident over Greenland, seen his DOJ forced to release millions of documents from the Epstein files and attempt to prosecute the chair of the Federal Reserve. And the government is partially shut down, again.”

“And now there’s this: Embarking on a major war in the Middle East — with little effort to prepare the U.S. public — would be pretty far from anyone’s ideal election-year strategy, let alone for an operation that literally campaigned on ending foreign wars. But Trump doesn’t seem to care.”