What happened: The May 26 Republican Primary Runoff Election concluded last Tuesday, with Midland County voters largely aligning with statewide results in most races. The biggest exception came in the Railroad Commission race, where Midland voters favored incumbent Jim Wright while Republican voters statewide narrowly selected challenger Bo French.

By the numbers: In the U.S. Senate runoff, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn statewide, receiving 63.9% of the vote compared to Cornyn’s 36.2%. Midland County voters also favored Paxton, though Cornyn performed slightly better locally than he did statewide. Paxton received 62.2% of the vote in Midland County, while Cornyn received 37.8%. Paxton will face Democratic nominee State Rep. James Talarico in the November general election.

A similar pattern emerged in the attorney general runoff. Statewide, State Sen. Mayes Middleton defeated U.S. Rep. Chip Roy 55.2% to 44.8%. Midland voters gave Roy a somewhat stronger showing. Middleton received 53.0% of the vote in Midland County, while Roy received 47.0%. Middleton will face Democratic nominee State Sen. Nathan Johnson and Libertarian nominee Tom Oxford in November.

The Railroad Commission race produced the largest difference between Midland and the rest of Texas. Statewide, former Tarrant County Republican Party Chairman Bo French narrowly defeated incumbent Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright, 50.6% to 49.4%. However, Wright carried Midland County with 56.1% of the vote, while French received 43.9%. French will face Democratic nominee State Rep. Jon Rosenthal in November.

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The final statewide runoff is the race for a seat on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Statewide, Republicans favored Thomas Smith with 58.1% of the vote compared to Alison Fox’s 41.9%. Midland County voters supported Smith by an even larger margin, giving him 64.5% of the vote compared to Fox’s 35.5%. Smith will face Democratic nominee Okay Anyiam and Libertarian nominee Mark Ash in November.