Trump-backed Ken Paxton wins GOP nomination for Texas U.S. Senate race

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton won the Republican nomination for Texas U.S. Senate, unseating four-term GOP incumbent John Cornyn in a special runoff election. As of late Tuesday night, Paxton easily beat Cornyn with well over 60% of the vote, with 88% of the vote counted. The two went head-to-head after neither candidate secured enough votes in the March primary to win the Republican nomination. At that time, Cornyn finished with 42% of the vote, narrowly ahead of Paxton, who had 41%. Tuesday’s winner will then run against Democratic state Rep. James Talarico in the November election. No Democrat has won a statewide office in Texas in nearly four decades. Additionally, Cornyn and Paxton’s race has been the most expensive Senate primary in history, according to AdImpact.

Did President Donald Trump endorse a candidate? The president endorsed Paxton last week, describing him as a true MAGA warrior. Trump also noted that Paxton has supported eliminating the Senate filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act. Trump said Cornyn was not supportive of him when times were tough, citing Cornyn’s criticism of him during the 2016 presidential elections. Senate Majority Leader John Thune urged the president to back Cornyn for the senator’s fifth term.

Paxton, who was elected Texas attorney general in 2014, has faced several scandals during his time as attorney general. In 2023, he was impeached on bribery and corruption charges, but was later acquitted by the state Senate. Additionally, Paxton’s wife announced she was divorcing him for what she characterized as Biblical grounds last year, though she declined to elaborate. Coryn has argued that Paxton’s controversies could risk giving the Senate seat to Democrats.

Dig deeper: Listen to political scientist Hunter Baker discuss how Trump-backed politicians have affected the midterm primaries.