Texas primaries launch midterm battle

The US primary season launches today, setting the stage for midterm elections that could reshape Washington’s balance of power and determine the trajectory of US President Donald Trump's remaining time in office.

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Rep Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) greets people at a campaign event in Houston on Feb 26 as the midterms get fully underway this week.

(NYT)

Some of the nation’s largest states — from Texas to North Carolina, Georgia and Illinois — will pick candidates for the US Congress in March's first round of primaries, offering an early test of how both parties position themselves for Mr Trump's final two years.

Those candidates will face off in November's midterms, which will decide whether Mr Trump governs with a cooperative legislature or confronts a Democratic opposition able to block his agenda and open investigations into his administration.

The primaries will take place in the shadow of the US-Israel war on Iran, although it remains unclear whether the conflict — still in its very early stages — will affect today’s voting.

For Republicans — defending a 53-47 Senate majority and a razor-thin edge in the House of Representatives — the central concern is avoiding polarising candidates who electrify the party base but alienate swing voters in November.