Endorsing just seven days before the runoff, Donald Trump pushed Ken Paxton to a decisive 28‑point victory over incumbent Senator John Cornyn.
The attorney general has been impeached, indicted for securities fraud (charges dismissed after community service), and is divorcing amid infidelity allegations — ammunition for Democrat James Talarico.
The Democratic state lawmaker reported $9.9 million on hand in April, compared with Paxton’s $2.3 million in May, raising GOP fears of an expensive seat defense.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee deleted past criticisms of Paxton and Senate Leadership Fund scrubbed anti‑Paxton tweets, while John Thune publicly embraced the winner.
Freed from reelection pressure, the defeated senator could join other retiring Republicans in occasionally opposing Trump’s agenda during his final months in office.
Ken Paxton, the scandal-plagued Texas attorney general, trounced four-term incumbent Senator John Cornyn in the May 26 Republican primary runoff by a nearly 28-point margin. President Donald Trump’s endorsement—delivered just seven days before voting—proved decisive in a contest that attracted the party’s most hardcore voters. In his victory speech, Paxton framed the outcome as a mandate for disruption.
“Today, change was on the ballot, and change won.”
Trump celebrated on Truth Social, congratulating Paxton while deriding his Democratic opponent, state Representative James Talarico, as “Alfred E. Neuman” and a host of other insults.
“A strong Open Borders advocate, he is WEAK ON CRIME, believes there are 6 genders, is insulting to Jesus Christ, will never support the Military, was a big Mask Wearer until recently, and is a Vegan who dislikes meat, not exactly a good way to be if you’re wanting to win an Election in Texas.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who had spent a year pressing Trump to back Cornyn, publicly endorsed Paxton after his victory. The National Republican Senatorial Committee scrubbed months of anti‑Paxton content, deleting press releases that had called him a liability. Cornyn, now unburdened by reelection, joins a group of retiring or defeated senators who may buck Trump during their remaining months.
Paxton’s political career is shadowed by legal and personal scandals. He was impeached by the Texas House, though the state Senate acquitted him; he faced securities‑fraud charges that were dismissed after he completed community service and an ethics course; and his estranged wife, state Senator Angela Paxton, is divorcing him on “biblical grounds” over alleged infidelity. Talarico has seized on the record.
“Ken Paxton is the most corrupt politician in America.”
The 37‑year‑old Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian with self‑described “youth‑pastor energy,” campaigns on a faith‑forward economic populism. He has consistently out‑raised Paxton, reporting $9.9 million on hand in early April to Paxton’s $2.3 million in early May. Democrats see a genuine opening in increasingly competitive Texas, though Republicans plan to brand Talarico as an out‑of‑touch progressive using the same culture‑war playbook that worked against Kamala Harris.
Control of the Senate could hinge on Texas. National Republicans fear that Paxton’s baggage and fundraising deficit will force the party to divert hundreds of millions from other battlegrounds. The race is already expected to be brutal and expensive, with a Republican consultant predicting that Trump‑aligned super PACs will ultimately have to rescue Paxton.
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton decisively defeated Senator John Cornyn in the Republican runoff, buoyed by a late Trump endorsement but alarming party leaders worried about holding the seat in November.
AI text based on reports by Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic and other publishers. Published .