— Fran Drescher on how she’d help this celebrity couple tie the knot. And that’s how she became the officiant?
Midterms
The $122 Million Question
What’s going on: The 2026 midterms kick off today with Senate primaries in Arkansas, North Carolina, and Texas. But the Lone Star State is the main event — and the price tag lives up to the “bigger in Texas” cliché. The primary alone has topped $122 million in ad spending and reservations, making it the most expensive Senate primary on record. On the Republican side, Sen. John Cornyn faces Attorney General Ken Paxton — impeached by the state House in 2023 and later acquitted — along with Rep. Wesley Hunt. Voters on the left will choose between Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s anti-establishment approach and State Rep. James Talarico’s crossover pitch to moderates. Democrats haven’t won a Senate seat in the state since 1988, but party leaders argue demographic shifts and Trump-era realignment have cracked the door open. And some GOP leaders privately worry that a Paxton nomination could turn a long-safe red seat into a real race.
What to watch: Start with turnout. Early Democratic voting has set records and outpaced Republicans — and strategists will comb through those numbers, especially among Latino voters who shifted toward Donald Trump in 2024. Who wins could preview the type of candidate that’ll play better in red-state midterms — someone with crossover appeal or a more openly anti-Trump edge. Republicans first want to know if anyone can win outright without a runoff election. And if not, will Trump step in as kingmaker? He hasn’t endorsed anyone yet, but if Cornyn underperforms, strategists say pressure could mount on the president to back Paxton — an unusual move against a sitting senator. Come November, Democrats will likely need breakthroughs in other red states like Alaska, Iowa, or Ohio to reclaim the Senate.
