Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in Tuesday’s Republican Senate runoff, a stunning defeat for a four-term incumbent that cemented the far right’s grip on Texas politics and raised Democratic hopes that a normally safe GOP seat could become competitive in November.
Trump Endorsement Helps Paxton Rout Cornyn
The Associated Press called the race. At 9 p.m. EDT. Paxton had 63% of the more than 850,000 votes counted, a decisive margin over Cornyn, one of Washington’s most powerful Republicans.
Paxton was boosted by President Donald Trump’s late endorsement. In a Sunday post, Trump called Cornyn “a good man,” but said “he was not supportive of me when times were tough.” Trump framed Paxton as a loyal “MAGA Warrior” and urged Texas voters to back him.
The result marks a major MAGA coup. Cornyn, a towering Texas Republican, became the first GOP senator from the state to lose renomination.
Democrats See Opening In November Fight
But the victory carries general-election risk. Paxton will face Democratic nominee James Talarico, the matchup Democrats wanted and some donors feared.
A University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll last month showed Talarico leading Cornyn by 7 points and Paxton by 8 points. An April Texas Southern University poll found Cornyn edging Talarico 45% to 44%, while Paxton and Talarico were tied at 45%.
Paxton overcame a narrow March primary loss by leaning on grassroots MAGA voters, a base he cultivated while fighting Democrats, federal investigators and impeachment charges.
Democrats quickly framed Paxton as damaged after the win. Senate Majority PAC spokesperson Lauren French said in a statement shared with AP, “Washington Republicans burned nearly $100 million trying to stop Ken Paxton — and still lost,” adding, “Even members of his own party call Paxton too corrupt and too damaged for Texas. Now he’s the GOP standard-bearer. Good luck with that.”
Trump’s Influence Reshapes More Republican Primaries
Cornyn’s ouster followed Trump-backed primary defeats for Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), extending Trump’s campaign against dissenting Republicans.
Democrats also chose House nominees on Tuesday. Rep. Christian Menefee (D-Texas) defeated veteran Rep. Al Green in Texas’ redrawn 18th District. Elsewhere, former oil and gas executive Alex Mealer, backed by Trump, beat state Rep. Briscoe Cain to win the GOP primary for Texas’s newly drawn 9th Congressional District.
Photo Courtesy: Victor Velter on Shutterstock.com
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