AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Texas is a newcomer to Super Tuesday, and the rest of the U.S. is keeping close tabs on its debut.

No state has more delegates at stake Tuesday than Texas, and Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz needs a big haul on his home turf after middling finishes in South Carolina and Nevada. Texas is the top prize of 12 states holding primaries Tuesday and isn’t winner-take-all, putting pressure on Cruz to win decisively and deny Donald Trump and Marco Rubio as many of the 155 delegates as possible.

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton is the favorite over Bernie Sanders, but how she performs with Hispanic and black voters will be watched.

Texas joined Super Tuesday after years of being an afterthought on the primary calendar, frustrating state leaders who craved an early say in the presidential race before the nominees were effectively settled.

Beyond the presidential contest, the primary ballot also includes races for:

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CONGRESS

House Ways and Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, who was elevated to the powerful post last fall, faces three conservative challengers in arguably the biggest fight of his 10-term career. Former state legislator Steve Toth is among his opponents, and with Republican voters railing against establishment candidates this election year, Brady may be thrown into a May runoff to defend his suburban Houston district.

Another longtime congressional fixture form Houston, Democrat Gene Green, also is facing a potentially stiff primary challenge from former Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia. The district is about 60 percent Hispanic, but top national Hispanic groups have backed Green.

The opening of a South Texas seat is also renewing the potential for the state to send its first Hispanic woman to Congress. Dolly Elizondo has the backing of former gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis and U.S. Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, the New York Democrat, in a crowded race to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Reuben Hinojosa. A runoff appears likely for the district that runs from San Antonio to the border.

A second round of primary voting also seems likely in the West Texas district where U.S. Rep. Randy Neugebauer is retiring and hasn’t endorsed any of the nine Republican candidates running to replace him.

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LEGISLATURE

Republican House Speaker Joe Straus, who is on the verge of a record-tying fifth session as Texas speaker, is again the main target of conservative activists who accuse him of being cozy with Democrats and derailing get-tough immigration proposals.

Megadonors including Alice Walton, heiress to the Wal-Mart fortune, have written big checks to businessman Jeff Judson in a brash campaign against Straus. His attacks against the speaker included claims that because Straus is Jewish, he doesn’t connect with Christian conservative voters. The even-tempered Straus has seldom fired back but has been forced to spend money to defend his record and his San Antonio district.

Straus, a friend of the Bush family whose supporters include Texas’ elite donor class, has kept his powerful post in recent years despite the Legislature pushing farther to the right. His political durability this cycle will be a test in an election year where anti-incumbent anger has been strong among Republican primary voters elsewhere.

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OTHER RACES

No major statewide offices are on the ballot in 2016. Gov. Greg Abbott, who endorsed his former protege Cruz for president, has not endorsed any legislative candidates but is backing Republican Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman for re-election. Both parties are also picking nominees for a new Texas railroad commissioner to oversee the state’s oil and gas industry.

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FROM THE POLLING SITES

Election monitors in Houston reported repeated cases of confusion Tuesday over where voters are supposed to cast a ballot. There were instances in Harris County where Republicans traveled to a Democratic polling site attempting to vote, and vice versa.

Hector DeLeon, spokesman for the Harris County Clerk’s Office, said the confusion is nothing out of the ordinary. He said people generally are aware of their polling site for a general election, but don’t realize they may have a different site for a primary election.

Houston voters, meanwhile, spoke Tuesday of a variety of reasons why they settled on a candidate.

Dormetra Henry, 50, a clerical worker from Houston, said that for her, it was a toss-up between Cruz and Trump but that in the end, it was her faith that helped her decide to vote for Cruz.

“We’re deeply religious and I believe Ted Cruz, he has a heart for the Lord. I believe that he is a Christian,” said Henry.

Ursula Adams, 50, an events manager, said she hopes her vote for Hillary Clinton will help make history.

“In my opinion, I felt it was important to have a female candidate. It’s well past due for a female president,” she said.

Shondra Boring, 45, an actor, said her concerns about the polarization of politics in America prompted her to vote for Rubio because she believes he will be more willing to work with members of both parties.

“When people aren’t willing to at least talk and listen to one another, even if they don’t agree, even if they cancel each other out, we have a problem,” said Boring.

Elsewhere, campaigning in Beaumont took a violent turn when someone in an SUV yelled a racial slur before a shot was fired and broke a window at the campaign headquarters of a black candidate for Jefferson County sheriff.

Police say a 19-year-old Vidor man was being held Tuesday facing a deadly conduct charge.

Nobody was hurt Monday night when someone opened fire at the campaign office of Democrat Zena Stephens.