Paxton Defeats Cornyn in Texas Primary
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated the incumbent Senator John Cornyn Tuesday in a hotly contested primary runoff election.
President Donald Trump endorsed Paxton last Tuesday after a long wait. Paxton will go on to face State Rep. James Talarico (D-Austin) in the general election on November 3.
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In March, neither Republican candidate reached the needed majority of primary votes, leading to the runoff election. On March 5, Paxton offered to drop out of the runoff election if Cornyn and Senate leadership abolished the filibuster to pass the SAVE Act, an important bill to the president. Trump cited this support in his endorsement of the Attorney General.
This primary win marks yet another win for Trump-endorsed candidates, including Ed Gallrein in Kentucky’s Fourth District, the exclusion of Senator Bill Cassidy from the GOP Senate primary runoff in Louisiana, and the ousting of five of seven Indiana Republicans who opposed redistricting in their state.
The Paxton-endorsed State Senator Mayes Middleton also defeated Rep. Chip Roy in the runoff for the GOP nominee for Texas attorney general, a race in which Trump did not offer an endorsement.
