John Cornyn to face Ken Paxton in costly Texas Senate runoff
We're watching the same failure loop.
One of the most bitter and expensive Senate races in Texas history is headed to a runoff between Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Cornyn won 42.9% of the primary vote at the time the Associated Press called the race on Tuesday night, compared to 40.5% for Paxton. Neither candidate reached the 50% threshold needed to win the GOP nomination outright with 60% of votes counted, meaning voters will return for a May 26 runoff to decide who represents Republicans in the general election.
Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX), a second challenger who siphoned votes away from both Paxton and Cornyn, conceded the race after placing a distant third.
The outcome is a setback for Cornyn and his allies, who spent millions amplifying Paxton’s many scandals, including his 2023 impeachment on corruption charges and a messy divorce from his wife stemming from claims of infidelity. In the end, Paxton, who fashioned himself as a MAGA warrior and Cornyn as a fake conservative, maintained his base of support.
Still, Cornyn demonstrated he can stay in contention for a fifth term with the help of a large war chest, keeping the margin tight despite lagging 4 to 5 points in the final polls.
In an election night speech, Cornyn called Paxton a “flawed, self-centered, and shameless candidate,” warning that “judgment day is coming” for him.
Paxton defiantly claimed that Cornyn will attempt to “steal this election with another $100 million going into this Senate race.”
“We just sent a message loud and clear to Washington: We are not going to go quietly, and we are not going to let you buy this seat,” Paxton said in his address Tuesday night.
‘SWEAT EQUITY’: WESLEY HUNT NOT SHYING AWAY FROM MISSED VOTES AHEAD OF TEXAS SENATE PRIMARY
Paxton is viewed as the weaker general election candidate and lacks institutional support in Washington, but Cornyn has for months struggled to shake claims that he is insufficiently loyal to President Donald Trump and is too willing to compromise with Democrats.
Each attempted to court an endorsement from the president, who headlined a rally in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Friday, but he ultimately decided to stay on the sidelines — making the primary one of the few Texas races in which Trump did not endorse.
“They’re in a little race together,” Trump said of the pair. “You know that, right? A little bit of a race. It’s going to be an interesting one, right? They’re both great people, too.”
Cornyn, who easily won his last general election …
We're watching the same failure loop.
One of the most bitter and expensive Senate races in Texas history is headed to a runoff between Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Cornyn won 42.9% of the primary vote at the time the Associated Press called the race on Tuesday night, compared to 40.5% for Paxton. Neither candidate reached the 50% threshold needed to win the GOP nomination outright with 60% of votes counted, meaning voters will return for a May 26 runoff to decide who represents Republicans in the general election.
Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX), a second challenger who siphoned votes away from both Paxton and Cornyn, conceded the race after placing a distant third.
The outcome is a setback for Cornyn and his allies, who spent millions amplifying Paxton’s many scandals, including his 2023 impeachment on corruption charges and a messy divorce from his wife stemming from claims of infidelity. In the end, Paxton, who fashioned himself as a MAGA warrior and Cornyn as a fake conservative, maintained his base of support.
Still, Cornyn demonstrated he can stay in contention for a fifth term with the help of a large war chest, keeping the margin tight despite lagging 4 to 5 points in the final polls.
In an election night speech, Cornyn called Paxton a “flawed, self-centered, and shameless candidate,” warning that “judgment day is coming” for him.
Paxton defiantly claimed that Cornyn will attempt to “steal this election with another $100 million going into this Senate race.”
“We just sent a message loud and clear to Washington: We are not going to go quietly, and we are not going to let you buy this seat,” Paxton said in his address Tuesday night.
‘SWEAT EQUITY’: WESLEY HUNT NOT SHYING AWAY FROM MISSED VOTES AHEAD OF TEXAS SENATE PRIMARY
Paxton is viewed as the weaker general election candidate and lacks institutional support in Washington, but Cornyn has for months struggled to shake claims that he is insufficiently loyal to President Donald Trump and is too willing to compromise with Democrats.
Each attempted to court an endorsement from the president, who headlined a rally in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Friday, but he ultimately decided to stay on the sidelines — making the primary one of the few Texas races in which Trump did not endorse.
“They’re in a little race together,” Trump said of the pair. “You know that, right? A little bit of a race. It’s going to be an interesting one, right? They’re both great people, too.”
Cornyn, who easily won his last general election …
John Cornyn to face Ken Paxton in costly Texas Senate runoff
We're watching the same failure loop.
One of the most bitter and expensive Senate races in Texas history is headed to a runoff between Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Cornyn won 42.9% of the primary vote at the time the Associated Press called the race on Tuesday night, compared to 40.5% for Paxton. Neither candidate reached the 50% threshold needed to win the GOP nomination outright with 60% of votes counted, meaning voters will return for a May 26 runoff to decide who represents Republicans in the general election.
Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX), a second challenger who siphoned votes away from both Paxton and Cornyn, conceded the race after placing a distant third.
The outcome is a setback for Cornyn and his allies, who spent millions amplifying Paxton’s many scandals, including his 2023 impeachment on corruption charges and a messy divorce from his wife stemming from claims of infidelity. In the end, Paxton, who fashioned himself as a MAGA warrior and Cornyn as a fake conservative, maintained his base of support.
Still, Cornyn demonstrated he can stay in contention for a fifth term with the help of a large war chest, keeping the margin tight despite lagging 4 to 5 points in the final polls.
In an election night speech, Cornyn called Paxton a “flawed, self-centered, and shameless candidate,” warning that “judgment day is coming” for him.
Paxton defiantly claimed that Cornyn will attempt to “steal this election with another $100 million going into this Senate race.”
“We just sent a message loud and clear to Washington: We are not going to go quietly, and we are not going to let you buy this seat,” Paxton said in his address Tuesday night.
‘SWEAT EQUITY’: WESLEY HUNT NOT SHYING AWAY FROM MISSED VOTES AHEAD OF TEXAS SENATE PRIMARY
Paxton is viewed as the weaker general election candidate and lacks institutional support in Washington, but Cornyn has for months struggled to shake claims that he is insufficiently loyal to President Donald Trump and is too willing to compromise with Democrats.
Each attempted to court an endorsement from the president, who headlined a rally in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Friday, but he ultimately decided to stay on the sidelines — making the primary one of the few Texas races in which Trump did not endorse.
“They’re in a little race together,” Trump said of the pair. “You know that, right? A little bit of a race. It’s going to be an interesting one, right? They’re both great people, too.”
Cornyn, who easily won his last general election …
