Voters in Texas, North Carolina primaries voice desire for change

STORY: :: Voters cast ballots in hotly contested primaries in Texas and North Carolina

:: Mansfield, Texas / March 3, 2026

TEXAS VOTER, DWAYNE HENRY, SAYING: "Well, it's several different things that brought me out but, on this day, today, I just feel that changes need to be made and we as people got to step up and do our job to vote for that change for the better."

TEXAS VOTER, MICHAEL COLLINS, SAYING: "I like the way that Trump is running the country and Republicans, I want to continue to have a Republican party in power in Texas."

:: Raleigh, North Carolina / March 3, 2026

NORTH CAROLINA VOTER, JENNIFER TREMA, SAYING:

"Everything from like a war just started to like, houses is expensive, and rent is expensive and food is expensive. // And it's important I think for democracy to come out and challenge and make new ideas out there because the way it is right now isn't working."

NORTH CAROLINA VOTER, JOSEPHINE LANEIR, SAYING: "I think they have been dropping sight of the American people, I think we need to be a priority, you know, and I don't always believe the agendas as they're laid out to us, and I think we really need to focus on America right now."

Tuesday's contests will determine the Republican and Democratic nominees for congressional races and other offices in those states for November's general election, when all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate's 100 seats will be at stake.

The elections take place days after the U.S. attacked Iran, a move that some White House aides privately worry could pose political risks for Trump and Republicans at a time when voters have made it clear they are more concerned with domestic issues, including affordability and immigration.

For both Democrats and Republicans, the bruising Senate primary contest in Texas has offered an early test of the divides roiling each party.

Voters on Tuesday in both parties expressed a range of opinions, with some wanting change and others hoping for continuity. 

Tuesday's contests will also mark the first time that new congressional maps are used in Texas and North Carolina, after Republican lawmakers last year redrew the states' U.S. House district lines at Trump's behest to try to gain more Republican seats, igniting a nationwide redistricting fight.