Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated Sen. John Cornyn in the Senate GOP runoff Tuesday, cementing the influence of the far right in Texas and potentially putting the seat in play for November.
Paxton was boosted by a last-minute endorsement from President Donald Trump in the final days of the race. His defeat of Cornyn, a towering figure in Texas politics and four-term incumbent, is a major MAGA coup.
But establishment Republicans and major national donors have warned that a Paxton victory would lead to a costly general election against Democratic nominee James Talarico. Head-to-head polling shows Talarico with a slight lead over Paxton.
Paxton overcame his deficit in the March primary, where he finished narrowly behind Cornyn, by leaning on his grassroots support among MAGA voters — a base he’s cultivated throughout his tenure in Texas.
He also overcame millions of dollars in attack ads from Cornyn that highlighted his long trail of personal and political scandals. And Trump’s endorsement one week before the primary runoff likely sealed the deal.