Live updates: 2026 primary elections today for Texas, North Carolina, Arkansas

North Carolina elections director Sam Hayes said today that early voting in the state's primary is up about 25% compared with the 2022 midterm election primary.

Voters wait in line to cast their ballots on the last day of early voting in the North Carolina primary election in Durham on Saturday. Rachel Jessen / Bloomberg via Getty Images

"A total of 701,000 voters cast ballots during the early voting period for this primary. That’s up from 559,000 in 2022, which was the last midterm primary," Hayes said at a news conference.

Hayes also noted that early voting participation even surpassed the 2020 primary levels, "demonstrating strong engagement from North Carolina voters."

The Justice Department told an appeals court today that it wanted to continue its battle over executive orders going after law firms targeted by Trump, reversing course from a court filing it made only yesterday.

Justice Department officials had said just last night that they planned to drop their appeal, conceding to unanimous rulings from federal judges that found the orders violated the Constitution.

The targeted firms included Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, Susman Godfrey and Jenner & Block. They had fought back against executive orders by Trump that took aim at their security clearances, government contracts and access to government buildings because of their clientele and hiring.

But the Justice Department filed a “motion to withdraw a motion to voluntarily dismiss appeals” in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia today. The New York Times first reported the planned reversal.

The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing featuring Noem's testimony has concluded after about 4½ hours.

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., grilled Noem about the $220 million ad campaign that Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., asked her about earlier in the hearing.

Schiff asked whether it was a coincidence that some money from the contract went to a subtractor Noem worked with as governor of South Dakota, led by the husband of Noem’s former spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin. McLaughlin resigned last month.

Schiff said about the contract for the ad, "You say it was a competitive process, and yet this contract went to a company that didn’t exist two weeks before they got the contract," a reference to a firm named in the contract documents.

"The same process was followed for this media contract than any other media contract that happened," Noem replied.

Noem said in her answers that the ad campaign "was critical in telling the world and this country that we are enforcing the laws in the United States of America, that if you’re in your country illegally, then you should leave now.”

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., pressed Noem on her statements in the immediate aftermath of the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

Shortly after they were killed, Noem accused them of domestic terrorism, but she did not provide evidence in either case, and videos and eyewitnesses contradicted her accounts.

"Do you have any concern about misleading the whole country?" Schiff asked. "Don't you think in the immediate aftermath of a shooting that you should provide only vetted information to the public? How do you imagine you're going to gain the trust of American people if you're pushing out false information about the shooting of American citizens?"

Noem began to answer that she works "every day to get factual information to the American people," but Schiff cut her off, saying she did not put out factual information to the country on the days that Good and Pretti were shot.

"You weren't getting out good information, you were making a spurious claim that has caused endless injury to the victims' families on the basis of God knows what," he said.

In fiery remarks, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., accused the Department of Homeland Security of flouting court orders, targeting protesters and “terrorizing our children,” and called on Noem to resign.

Calling DHS “a reckless and out-of-control agency,” Booker criticized Noem for repeatedly saying during the Senate hearing on oversight of the department that she was unaware of the details surrounding specific allegations of ICE and Border Patrol abuses, arguing that such responses reflected a breakdown in leadership.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., speaks as U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee today. Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

“Either you are utterly incompetent or you are violating laws with impunity,” Booker said. “You should step down from your position. If you don’t, you should be removed by this president, and if not, Congress should impeach you.”

“I appreciate the encouragement,” Noem replied as Booker’s time expired.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., sharply criticized Noem for killing her dog, a decision she detailed in her 2024 book.

"You are a farmer, and you should know better," Tillis said, blasting Noem and asserting that the 14-month-old dog was "basically a teenager in dog years."

"You decided to kill that dog because you had not invested the appropriate time in training, and then you have the audacity to go into a book and say it's a leadership lesson about tough choices," he said.

As he blasted Noem for her leadership of DHS, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., reiterated his call for her to resign as secretary. He previously said in January that he thought Noem "should go," but he was more direct today.

Tillis pointed to a letter from the office of inspector general, citing "10 different instances under Ms. Noem's leadership where they've been misled and not allowed to pursue investigations that they think are critically important."

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., speaks as U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee today. Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

"Does anybody have any idea how bad it has to be for the OIG in this agency to come out and do this publicly?" he asked. "That is stonewalling. That's a failure of leadership, and that is why I've called for your resignation."

There was a smattering of applause, but Tillis asked people to not clap for him. If Noem did not respond to questions about her oversight of DHS, he said he would put a hold on "en bloc" nominations, a procedure allowing the Senate to confirm nominees as a group.

Tillis then went further, threatening to throw sand in the gears of committees to pressure Noem into responding to questions.

"In two weeks, if I don't get a response, I'm going to deny quorum and markup in as many committees as I can until I get a response," he said.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., unleashed his anger at Noem during his questioning, saying he was "disappointed" in her and ripping her over what he called the "disaster" under her leadership.

Tillis argued that DHS just wanted to tout the "numbers" of people deported.

"Numbers matter, right? No, they don't matter," he said, raising his voice. "Quality matters, not quantity. Quality."

"And what we've seen is a disaster under your leadership, Ms. Noem, a disaster," he shouted. "What we've seen is innocent people getting detained that turn out are American citizens."

Tillis he was giving Noem "a performance evaluation," and that "time after time after time" he has been disappointed in her.

Earlier in his comments, Tillis referred to a plaque that will be put up at the Capitol to honor police officers who defended the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack by Trump supporters.

"All those thugs have actually been pardoned, and yet we haven’t thanked the Capitol police officers for their work here," he said.

Tillis is not running for re-election, and he has repeatedly criticized the administration for its lethal immigration enforcement actions and other policies, such as cuts to Medicaid. His open seat is expected to be a top battleground race this fall.

'A disaster': Sen. Tillis criticizes Noem's leadership at DHS

06:36

The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing has resumed after a short break.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., pressed Noem to answer questions about U.S. citizens detained or injured by federal immigration officers, including three attending the hearing. 

One of them, Marimar Martinez, a Chicago teacher, was shot five times last year by a Border Patrol agent who accused her of using her car to assault federal officers; prosecutors later dropped the charges with prejudice. Body camera video released last month showed agents inside a vehicle saying, “It’s time to get aggressive,” moments before a collision, and captures the sound of five gunshots — evidence her attorneys say undercuts DHS claims that Martinez deliberately rammed officers.

“Wouldn’t you agree that shooting Marimar Martinez on her way to donate clothing at her church, a United States citizen from Chicago, is wrong?” Blumenthal asked Noem.

“Sir, I don’t know the situation or the case,” Noem replied. “I’ll look into it.”

Marimar Martinez stands with two other American citizens who were previously detained by federal immigration officers at the hearing today. Jim Watson / AFP - Getty Images

Noem pushed back on the line of questioning from Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., criticizing him for not focusing on victims of crimes perpetrated by migrants who were illegally in the U.S., pointing specifically to the case of Angel Samaniego, who law enforcement investigators said was bound and shot to death at a motel in Connecticut.

"I haven't heard you say one victim's name from illegal immigrants that are here perpetuating violence against people," Noem said.

"I'd like to hear you say the name of one of our victims of illegal criminal activity and fight for one of those victims so that we can stop as many of them from being created in the future by people who should never be in this country to begin with," she added.

After Blumenthal's period of questioning ended, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., listed the names of several victims of crimes committed by people who were illegally in the U.S.

The Judiciary Committee with Noem is on a short recess.

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., asked Noem repeatedly whether she would rule out the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement or U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents to polling places during midterm elections.

"There are no plans to have ICE officers at our polling locations," Noem said, reiterating that sentiment multiple times during Coons' line of questioning.

Noem turned a question back to Coons, asking him whether he planned for "illegal aliens" to vote in the elections. Coons said he did not, and Noem responded that "then there should be no need to."

Late last month, NBC News reported that a senior DHS official told state election officials that immigration agents would not be present at polling locations. Federal law prohibits armed U.S. agents or troops from being present at polling locations.

Noem says there are no plans for agents to be at polling sites

02:04

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., grilled Noem over the detention of ChongLy Thao, a 56-year-old St. Paul resident and U.S. citizen who was taken by ICE agents after they broke down his door.

Thao, who was returned only after authorities determined they had the wrong person, was handcuffed and led outside in boxer shorts and sandals in 12-degree weather, a relative said.

“Do you agree that it is unacceptable for your agents to ram into someone’s door and drag someone out in their underwear in below-zero temperatures when they have the wrong guy?” Klobuchar said.

Without answering directly, Noem said ICE officers conduct targeted operations.

“You will not answer that you think that that’s wrong?” Klobuchar pressed.

Noem again didn’t answer directly, saying the officers were working to identify the man.

ChongLy Thao is detained in an immigration raid at his home in January. Leah Millis / Reuters

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., pressed Noem on her response to the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both of whom were shot to death by immigration agents in separate incidents in Minneapolis.

Klobuchar asked Noem if she had anything to say to Pretti's parents, criticizing the secretary for accusing him of domestic terrorism.

"I can't even imagine what they have gone through in the loss of their son and the loss of their family members," Noem replied.

Klobuchar pressed Noem to respond to her initial comments about domestic terrorism.

"I did not call him a domestic terrorist," Noem said. "I said it appeared to be an incident of."

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., criticized Noem over what he suggested was exorbitant spending on advertisements at DHS.

“How do you square that concern for waste, which I share, with the fact that you have spent $220 million running television advertisements that feature you prominently?" Kennedy asked.

"Sir, the president tasked me with getting the message out to the country, and to other countries where we were seeing the invasion come from. with putting commercials out that told them that if they were in this country illegally, that they needed to leave, or we would detain them and remove them, and they’d not get the chance to come back to America," she said.

Noem said she discussed the plan to develop these ads with Trump before she was confirmed as secretary.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., pressed Noem on a luxury jet that has been leased by the Department of Homeland Security, which NBC News previously reported contained a bedroom, showers, a kitchen and even a bar.

Noem argued that pictures of the jet's bedroom, highlighted by Whitehouse, were inaccurate, adding that the department was using "long-range command and control aircraft."

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse pressed Noem on a luxury jet that has been leased by the Department of Homeland Security. Andrew Harnik / Getty Images

Asked whether she has used a luxury jet with a bedroom in it, Noem said that "we used a 737, I've been on it once," adding that it was used by other administration officials.

NBC News reported ICE is seeking approval to buy the jet for $70 million, telling the White House’s Office of Management and Budget that it would be used for deportations and Cabinet officials' travel. A DHS official previously told NBC that "at least one of the bedrooms is currently being converted for seating to prepare the aircraft to meet the demands of its deportation mission set."

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., began his remarks by blaming Democratic immigration and border policies for the deaths of U.S. citizens at the hands of undocumented migrants, echoing a continual refrain of Trump and senior administration officials.

"To all the people in the front row that have lost loved ones, I am sorry, your family members are a victim of an out-of-control Democratic-led effort to obliterate the border and every senator on this side of the aisle, that side of the aisle, did nothing about it," he said.

"I just want the country to know these men and women who are trying to solve this problem that was created by our Democratic colleagues, you have no idea of the mess they inherited," Graham continued. "This country was overrun by illegal immigrants, murderers, rapists and just average everyday people."

Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the committee, highlighted a judge who criticized the administration for failing to comply with court orders.

In January, U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz in Minnesota called for acting ICE Director Todd Lyons to appear in court to answer questions about a man arrested by immigration enforcement who he said was not given a bond hearing or released from detention within a week, despite the judge's order. Schiltz added that the government had failed to comply with dozens of court orders in recent weeks.

Durbin asked Noem whether DHS is required to follow federal court orders.

"Yes sir, we do comply with federal court orders," Noem replied.

The senator continued, asking Noem if she believed the judges who accused the administration of flouting court orders were wrong.

"I'm not saying that they're wrong," Noem answered, adding that she couldn't speak to a judge's specific statement.

In his opening statement, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., criticized the care provided to immigrant children held with their parents at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas.

“Detained individuals, including children and infants, are subject to abusive conditions and inadequate medical care,” Durbin said

As he spoke, a staffer held up a photo of 18-month-old Amalia, a toddler who had to be rushed to a hospital after suffering severe respiratory distress while held at Dilley. After 10 days in the hospital, NBC News reported last month, ICE returned Amalia and her mother to detention, where, according to a habeas corpus complaint, workers withheld prescribed medication.

DHS has denied those allegations.

As Durbin began questioning Noem about the killing of people by immigration agents, another protester began yelling about "Americans killed by ICE" and accused Noem of not giving their families justice.

The hearing promptly continued after the protester was removed.

A protester is removed by a Capitol Police officer at the hearing today. Jim Watson / AFP - Getty Images

Durbin asked Noem if she would like to retract her previous statements falsely calling Good and Pretti, who were both fatally shot by immigration agents in Minnesota, domestic terrorists.

Noem said that after these situations, "We always offer our condolences to those families, and I offer mine as well. These are tragic situations, and I can’t imagine what these families go through and losing a loved one."

"What I what I will say is we always work to provide the American people with as much information as possible, that we’re relying on reports from the ground and from agents that are there and working to be transparent and will continue to do all that we can to provide the accurate information and the facts to people as we can," she said.

Asked where she got the information that they were domestic terrorists, Noem said, "I was getting reports from the ground, from agents at the scene, and I would say that it was a chaotic scene."

Noem asked to retract comments calling Renee Good and Alex Pretti domestic terrorists

03:10

As she began her testimony, Noem sought to address Grassley's concern from his opening statement about what he said was the prevention of an inspector general from speaking with certain congressional committees about a classified report.

Noem said that there is "nothing preventing the IG from coming and briefing members of Congress, and he's free to do that."

"We just need to remember it's a classified document and use those protocols to ensure that it remains classified," she said.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem denounced Democrats in her opening statement over their decision not to fund her department, which has resulted in a partial shutdown that began in mid-February.

Noem said that the shutdown "undermines the American national security and it harms the men and women who work at DHS and their families."

"Despite the House passing a bipartisan, bicameral full-year DHS funding bill, it is Senate Democrats who have chosen not to fund the department and have held this department hostage," she said. "As a result, critical national security missions, including border security, immigration enforcement, aviation security, disaster response, cyber security and the protection of critical infrastructure are all being strained."

Noem touts Trump administration's immigration agenda in Senate testimony

05:45

Moments before Noem was supposed to begin her opening statement, a protester began shouting and was removed from the hearing room.

"You should be shamed of yourself!" the protester shouted as she was led out of the room, also yelling, "Abolish ICE!"

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said in his opening statement that the Department of Homeland Security has been "devoid of any moral compass or respect for the rule of law, without hesitation or remorse."

Durbin, the Judiciary Committee's ranking member, slammed the Trump administration's deportation-related efforts in his home state of Illinois and in Minnesota, alluding to the fatal shootings by immigration agents of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., makes an opening statement today. Andrew Harnik / Getty Images

Durbin defended the Democrats' decision not to continue funding DHS without changes to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement policies.

"Democrats believe that Congress must do its job and rein in ICE abuses by requiring immigration agents to simply follow the same rules as local police, while Republicans claim the DHS shutdown is putting us at risk," he said.

But he blamed Republicans and the administration for weakening DHS.

"The reality is this administration has engaged in mass layoffs of career national security officials and diverted many others from protecting the homeland with the president's mass deportation campaign," he said.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, mostly praised DHS in his opening remarks, but he raised concern about what he said were restrictions on a department inspector general from speaking with certain congressional committees about a classified report.

Issues like this "should have been ironed out a long time ago," Grassley said.

Grassley also used his opening remarks to urge Democrats to move to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which entered a shutdown last month after funding lapsed. He touted arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement of people with criminal records, saying that "criminals like this destroy the lives of innocent people."

"Under your leadership, the department has renewed focus on removing criminals from our neighborhoods," he said.

The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing featuring Noem's testimony has begun.

Noem is expected to face questions from lawmakers about immigration enforcement tactics in the wake of the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.

The hearing is billed as centering on oversight of the Department of Homeland Security. The committee chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R- Iowa, gaveled the hearing in with a request that the senators on the committee and members of the audience adhere to decorum and remain respectful during the proceedings.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem takes her seat as she arrives to testify today. Mandel Ngan / AFP - Getty Images

A pair of volatile Senate contests in Texas will headline the first primary night of the 2026 midterm season. And a few groups of voters are set to play critical roles deciding these races — and possibly hint at the keys to other campaigns to come this year.

The drama centers on the seat held by Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who is in the underdog role as he seeks his fifth term. Cornyn faces primary challenges from state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt. If Cornyn is defeated, he will be the first senator to be denied renomination by his or her own party since Republican Richard Lugar of Indiana back in 2012.

Read the full story here.

Kornacki: What to expect in Texas' Senate primary

05:43

The House Oversight Committee has released new videos of former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton answering questions about their relationships and interactions with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. NBC’s Ryan Nobles reports for "TODAY."

House committee releases videos of Clintons' Epstein testimony

01:57

The Supreme Court issued a ruling yesterday that will keep New York City’s lone Republican-held congressional district in place for this year’s midterm elections.

The court sided with Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., who had asked the justices to block a ruling from a state judge earlier this year that her Staten Island-based 11th District was unconstitutional. The judge said the district diluted Black and Latino voting power and ordered New York’s independent redistricting commission to redraw it. 

Read the full story here.

Former U.S. Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino’s use of a chemical irritant on people in Minnesota protesting large-scale immigration operations is one of several incidents being investigated by the Hennepin County attorney’s office.

The investigation is part of a new initiative to collect and assess evidence submitted by the public to identify “potentially unlawful behavior by federal agents” during Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced yesterday.

Read the full story here.

Trump said yesterday that he will go to the White House correspondents’ dinner this year, the first time he’ll be in attendance while he was in office.

Although it’s customary for presidents to attend the dinner, Trump skipped the event each year during his first term, in addition to the first one in his second term.

Read the full story here.

The Justice Department yesterday dropped the fight over Trump’s executive orders targeting firms he disliked, conceding to unanimous rulings from federal judges that found the orders violated the fundamental tenets of the Constitution.

The targeted firms included Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, Susman Godfrey and Jenner & Block. They had fought back against executive orders by Trump that took aim at their security clearances, government contracts and access to government buildings due to their clientele and hiring.

Read the full story here.

Three states are kicking off the 2026 midterm elections today with primaries that will shape the battle for control of the House and the Senate, while simmering fights for control of each party could boil over as voters decide whether to discard longtime incumbents.

As Texas, Arkansas and North Carolina vote, the highest-profile race features longtime Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who is in the fight of his political life against state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt in Texas. Both are challenging Cornyn from his right flank in a primary that has drawn almost $100 million in advertising.

Meanwhile, Rep. Jasmine Crockett and state Rep. James Talarico are squaring off in the opposing primary, a race that has exposed an important strategic divide in the party over whether Democrats should be trying to excite their base or focusing on bipartisan appeal.

And while Cornyn is the headliner, he’s just one of a handful of incumbents in both parties who face serious primary threats to their political future. 

Read the full story here.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hear testimony from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at 9 a.m., a hearing during which she is expected to face tough questions from both sides of the aisle. 

While many Republicans are supportive of Noem’s work overseeing immigration enforcement operations, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., a member of the committee, has been hypercritical of her in recent months.

"If I were in her position, I can’t think of any point of pride over the last year,” Tillis said Jan. 27. “She’s got to make her own decision, or the president does, but she has taken this administration into the ground on an issue that we should own. We should own, the issue of border security and immigration, but they have destroyed that for Republicans, something that got the president elected. They have destroyed it through their incompetence.”

Democrats are expected to be universally critical of Noem, and when asked what he wanted to hear from Noem during the hearing, Sen Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., laughed and responded, “I resign.”

MAGNOLIA, Texas — Unlike many of the Texans packed into the Angry Elephant last week, Phillip Mori wasn’t completely sold on Senate candidate and state Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Mori, a 64-year-old mortgage banker and ardent Trump supporter came to the Republican-themed bar hoping to hear Paxton talk about how he would address border security. Paxton laid out the case for his primary challenge against GOP Sen. John Cornyn and his experience taking on Democratic presidents as attorney general, but Mori thought he focused too much on the past.

Read the full story here.

AUSTIN, Texas — Democrats are starting to believe that the stars at night, big and bright, just might align in Texas.

Those lyrics from “Deep in the Heart of Texas,” the Lone Star State’s unofficial anthem, blared through the speakers at a packed rally for state Rep. James Talarico ahead of today’s primary, with the prospect that Democrats could have a real shot at winning this year’s Senate race weighing heavily on voters’ minds.

Read the full story here.