Texas Senate GOP deadline: Attorney General Ken Paxton wins race after last-minute Trump endorsement | Today’s news
As the race for the Texas Senate primary heats up, state Attorney General Ken Paxton, backed by President Donald Trump, is expected to win the GOP runoff, unseating longtime incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in a major shakeup for Senate Republicans.
CBS News reported that the Trump-backed candidate will face Democratic nominee state Rep. James Talarico in November’s midterm elections. A Democrat hasn’t won a statewide race in Texas since 1994 and hasn’t won a U.S. Senate seat since 1988.
Trump endorses Ken Paxton
Paxton’s fortunes were boosted by Trump’s last-minute endorsement last week. In a Truth Social post, the US president wrote: “Ken is a true MAGA warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas and will continue to do so in the United States Senate.”
After a long stint on the sidelines, Trump threw his support behind Paxton last week, writing that the attorney general “has always been extremely loyal to me.” The president called Cornyn a “good man” who “didn’t support me when times were tough.” After the primary, Paxton also received an endorsement from Rep. Wesley Hunt.
Cornyn vs. Paxton
The endorsement came a week before a May 26 runoff against Cornyn after neither candidate received 50 percent of the vote in the March 3 primary. Cornyn, a four-term senator and former member of the Senate GOP leadership team, received about 42 percent of the vote, while Paxton secured nearly 41 percent, separating the two by about 26,000 votes, sending the contest into a runoff.
Trump congratulates Paxton
Congratulating Paxton on his victory, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that Cornyn ran a “strong and powerful race,” adding that Cornyn “had a truly great career.” He added: “John will remain my friend for a long time as we both watch Ken become a fantastic senator with common sense who is respected by all.”
At his victory party Tuesday, the Texas attorney general thanked Trump for his support, saying, “When everybody in Washington told him to abandon me and abandon the people of Texas, he didn’t listen.”
The result marks another victory for a Trump-backed challenger over an incumbent who has fallen out of favor with the president. Earlier this month, Sen. Bill Cassidy failed to advance to the runoff in his state’s primary after Trump endorsed his opponent, while Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie lost a primary to a Trump-backed candidate last week.
Paxton-Trump ties
The Texas attorney general was first elected in 2014 and aggressively took on the Obama administration after taking office. He later became a close Trump ally, going so far as to file a lawsuit challenging former President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victories in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia and Wisconsin.
Paxton also reportedly has a history of legal problems related to his role as attorney general. In 2015, he was indicted for securities fraud; however, they were later dropped in 2024 as part of a pre-trial diversion agreement. In 2023, Paxton was also impeached by the Texas House of Representatives, with a 121-23 GOP majority, for bribery, neglect of duty, and dereliction of duty. He was later acquitted by the state senate.
