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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ousted US Senator John Cornyn on Tuesday, lifting the endorsement of President Donald Trump in an upset victory for the Republican Senate nomination.
The race was called shortly after polls closed in western Texas counties, which are geographically different from most of the state. As of Wednesday morning, Paxton had more than 63 percent of the vote, according to reports from several American media outlets.
“Without a doubt, I will be the Democrats’ No. 1 come November,” Paxton said in his victory speech. “Texas will be number one on the left, but … we’re not going to let them take it.”
Paxton’s win would force Cornyn to retire early next year — and the Republican political establishment in Washington to embrace a longtime adversary.
Cornyn has told his supporters that he will return to the Republican ticket in November.
“I’ve said throughout this race that I trust the voters of Texas, and they’ve made their decision, and I have to respect that,” he said in his acceptance speech.
Cornyn, 74, has been backed by the Republican leadership in the fight for his political life against Paxton, 63, who was hounded by the attorney general and won Trump’s endorsement last week.
In supporting Paxton, Trump chose loyalty over discretion as he continued to extend his hand over Republican voters. This month, Trump’s endorsement of Republican primary challengers ousted incumbents including Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy and Kentucky House Representative Thomas Massie.
Cornyn, unlike other Republicans who resented the president, voted against Trump’s impeachment in 2019 and 2021. Most recently, he argued against ending the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster to consider legislation favored by the White House, much to Trump’s ire.
Cornyn’s efforts to get back on the president’s good agenda — she posted a photo of herself reading Trump’s letter. The Art of the Feast — and proposed legislation to rename half of the states in Trump’s honor ultimately came to naught.
Paxton was impeached by the Texas House, charged with fraud, reported to the FBI about his top aides and is divorcing his wife, although he denies wrongdoing. Angela Paxton, a state senator, shared her endorsements in several Texas races on Tuesday but did not publicly endorse a race that included her estranged husband.
He will face Democratic state representative James Talarico in a high-profile race that could help decide control of the Senate and could be one of the costliest in US history.
Talarico, 37, is a Presbyterian student and leading fundraiser whose campaign has appealed to independent and moderate voters. Paxton’s supporters quickly attacked his previous comments about a non-binary God and six natural sexes, with Paxton and the chairman of the Republican National Committee calling him “Tala-freak-o.”
Democrats feel Paxton is losing
The campaign arm of Senate Republicans warned in an internal memo last year that Paxton’s nomination “will give Democrats an opportunity to turn Texas around and cause Republicans to divert hundreds of millions of dollars that would otherwise be spent on winning key battleground states.”
Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate over Democrats, who will need to gain four seats in the November election to control the chamber. Democrats are defending the two states that Trump won in 2024 – Georgia and Michigan – but could win the chamber by holding those two seats and flipping North Carolina, Maine, Ohio and Alaska.
Andrew Chang explains US President Donald Trump’s call for Republicans to make elections ‘national’ ahead of the upcoming midterms and how it contradicts the rationale given by his press secretary. Photos provided by The Canadian Press, Reuters and Getty Images
A competitive race in Texas, where no Democrat has won statewide since 1994, could widen the party’s path to a majority and could force Republicans to redirect investment in hotly contested battlegrounds to protect their nominees in the event that Trump carries nearly 14 percent in 2024.
In a joint statement, Democratic Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand said, “Republicans are facing a dire situation” while Democrats are closing in on winning the majority.
Lauren French, spokeswoman for the Democratic Senate Majority PAC, said Paxton’s win was a loss for Washington Republicans, who spent nearly $100 million on Cornyn’s behalf.
“Even members of his own party are calling Paxton the most corrupt and most corrupt person in Texas. Now he’s the GOP in charge,” he said. “Good luck with that.”
In a new campaign video released Tuesday night, Talarico said, “The most corrupt politician in America just became the Republican nominee for the United States Senate.”
Cornyn’s campaign has attacked Paxton’s character from the start, including calling him “Crooked Ken” and inventing a dating game that allows users to swipe on Paxton’s alleged stalking friends.
