Ken Paxton, the scandal-plagued Texas attorney general, faces four-term incumbent John Cornyn in Tuesday's Republican Senate runoff, a contest described as the year's ugliest primary. The winner will take on Democrat James Talarico in November's general election, a race that could flip a Senate seat long held by Republicans.
Paxton secured former President Donald Trump's endorsement last week, with Trump calling him a 'true Maga warrior.' Supporters in McKinney, Texas, back Paxton's conservative credentials. 'Paxton is more conservative,' said Jim Tubbesing, 77. 'He has been good for Texas. I vote for the policy, not the fact that he's alleged to have done something.' He labelled Cornyn a 'Rino: Republican in name only.'
The runoff is less about policy—both candidates vote similarly on legislation—and more about style, with major implications for Texas, Senate control, and the Republican Party's direction. Cornyn, a former attorney general and state supreme court justice, represents the old guard. Paxton, who has been impeached and indicted, appeals to the party's base with hardline immigration and culture war stances.
Jon Taylor, a political science professor at UT San Antonio, said Cornyn is 'like the last of the old-guard Republicans in this state.' A Paxton victory would extend Trump's endorsement winning streak but could jeopardise the seat against Talarico, a state legislator with growing popularity who aims to become the first Democrat to win statewide office in Texas in over 30 years.
Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez, a former Democratic Senate candidate, said: 'If Ken Paxton becomes the candidate, Talarico has a shot. That wouldn't just change the political outcome of our state for an election cycle; that would start to change the political outcome and possibilities for our country for a generation.'
Cornyn has worked with Democrats on bipartisan bills, including a 2022 gun safety bill after the Uvalde school massacre, which angered the Maga movement. Paxton, meanwhile, pioneered anti-establishment politics before Trump. Brandon Rottinghaus of the University of Houston said: 'Paxton was Donald Trump before Donald Trump was.'
