Fight between Texas Republicans for US Senate seat leaves party on edge | Texas
Four-term Republican U.S. senator John Cornyn is fighting for his political life against Texas attorney general Ken Paxton in a bitter primary that will likely result in a runoff.
As polls began to close in the Lone Star state on Tuesday evening, national Republicans were clearly worried that a victory for Paxton, the scandal-plagued conservative culture warrior and favorite of Donald Trump’s Maga movement, would give Democrats a rare opening in the red state.
Republicans, including the National Republican Senatorial Committee, have already spent tens of millions of dollars in Cornyn’s defense. If the race reaches a 10-week runoff, donors will likely have to spend millions more.
Trump has not weighed in so far, heaping praise on all three candidates during his visit to Texas last week. While all touted their closeness to the president, Cornyn emphasized his record of voting for the president’s agenda. He has also touted his electability for the past few weeks, warning that his opponent would jeopardize Republicans’ chances of retaining the seat in November.
But Paxton survived years of legal, political and ethical scandals, including his impeachment by the Republican-controlled Texas House on charges of bribery, abuse of public trust and obstruction of justice. The vote in the Senate fell short of the two-thirds majority required for conviction.
Paxton is leading in most polls and appears poised to end Cornyn’s 24-year Senate career. To many observers, the real question is not whether he will win, but whether he can win outright with more than 50% in a contest that includes right-wing representative Wesley Hunt.
“Please all of you go out and tell your friends, drag them to the polls and let’s get this done on Tuesday,” Paxton told his supporters in Waco. “Let’s do this without a second round.”
Even as Trump’s approval ratings have fallen and voters have grown dissatisfied with his handling of the economy and immigration, Texas Republicans have remained fiercely loyal to the president. Trump wins state by near margin in 2024 14 percent He improves himself by giving points margins With the support of Latino voters.
Cornyn in an interview with CBS accepted He said it would be a “difficulty” if “only the most radical people” voted in the Texas Republican primary.
Republicans in Washington have warned that Paxton would force the party to divert resources away from other key Senate contests to maintain the seat long viewed as safely red.
“To be honest, if you look at the voting in a general election environment, I don’t think it’s improbable that the seat will change. [flips]”It depends on who the Democrats nominate,” Senate majority leader John Thune said. Policy in a recent interview.
