{"id":97,"date":"2026-05-27T04:14:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T04:14:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?p=97"},"modified":"2026-05-27T04:14:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T04:14:53","slug":"trump-backed-texas-ag-ken-paxton-beats-john-cornyn-in-senate-primary-runoff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?p=97","title":{"rendered":"Trump-Backed Texas AG Ken Paxton Beats John Cornyn in Senate Primary Runoff"},"content":{"rendered":"

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton won the state\u2019s Republican Senate primary runoff Tuesday night, besting incumbent Senator John Cornyn following a hard-fought campaign capped off with an endorsement from President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

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All polls across the state had closed by 9 p.m.<\/span> ET, when the race was almost immediately called for Paxton. With just over 50 percent of the votes in, Paxton held onto his early lead against Cornyn, solidifying his victory against the incumbent senator.<\/p>\n

Paxton, who has faced scrutiny for a litany of scandals throughout his tenure, moved to a runoff against Cornyn after neither candidate was able to secure 50 percent of the vote in the initial primary election in March. Paxton will face off in November against Democratic nominee James Talarico, who beat Representative Jasmine Crockett in the Democratic primary in March.<\/p>\n

Cornyn, who has represented Texas in the U.S. Senate since 2002, has long publicly supported the president and even introduced his 2026 campaign by saying he was running \u201cso President Trump and I can pick up where we left off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paxton, however, came out strongly in support of passing the SAVE America Act and ending the Senate filibuster \u2014 key tenets of the president\u2019s agenda that have faced opposition among Senate Republicans \u2014 earning him Trump\u2019s favor leading up to Tuesday\u2019s election. Upon receiving the last-minute endorsement on May 19, Paxton preemptively declared Tuesday a victory.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll have Tuesday, and then we\u2019re going to have a little race with James Talarico,\u201d Paxton had said at a rally in San Antonio.<\/p>\n

Cornyn has predicted that Paxton could cost the party his seat if he\u2019s allowed to go up against Talarico, a rising Democratic star and prolific fundraiser.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Ken Paxton\u2019s flaws and the baggage he brings to the general election are going to be exploited up to the fullest by James Talarico and by Democrats,\u201d Cornyn told Fox News on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Cornyn earned 42.5 percent of the vote in March\u2019s initial primary election, compared with Paxton\u2019s almost 41 percent.<\/p>\n

The president\u2019s March 4 Truth Social post, in which he touts his continued electoral victories, reads, \u201cIt is such an honor to realize and say that almost everyone I Endorse WINS, and wins by a lot, especially in Texas! I will be making my Endorsement soon, and will be asking the candidate that I don\u2019t Endorse to immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE!\u201d<\/p>\n

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Yet Cornyn did not drop out when he did not receive the president\u2019s endorsement, perhaps in part because of Paxton\u2019s controversial and scandal-ridden past.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know who gets to choose our senators, and it\u2019s the people of Texas,\u201d Cornyn said, following the president\u2019s endorsement of Paxton.<\/p>\n

Paxton was impeached by a Republican-led Texas house over allegations that he abused the power of his office to benefit an Austin-based real estate developer and donor. The state senate, however, acquitted Paxton. Some of Paxton\u2019s top aides reported this behavior to the FBI, at which time he fired them, and the group filed wrongful termination suits. Further, after taking office in 2015, Paxton was indicted on securities fraud charges. The criminal charges were dropped in 2024, but Paxton agreed to pay restitution and complete community service.<\/p>\n

The scandal extends to Paxton\u2019s personal life as well: He is now in the midst of a divorce after allegations of infidelity.<\/p>\n

Talarico has served in the state house since 2018 and has generated significant national media attention despite his relative lack of experience. He\u2019s been able to parlay his rising profile into significant fundraising power, bringing in $27 million in the first quarter of 2026.<\/p>\n

Talarico is studying to become a pastor and speaks often about how his Christian faith informs his left-wing social views, including on gender identity and abortion.<\/p>\n

A 2021 video of Talarico resurfaced during the campaign, in which he suggested \u201cmodern science obviously recognizes that there are many more than two biological sexes. In fact, there are six.\u201d Another clip from 2022 made headlines, when Talarico suggested that Texans limit their meat consumption to help lessen the effects of climate change and promote animal welfare. Texas eats more meat per capita than any other state in the U.S.<\/p>\n

This Senate race is the most expensive in U.S. history, with hundreds of millions of dollars spent during the primary and the runoff. Cornyn and his allies alone have spent upwards of $90 million since last year, in an attempt to save his seat from Paxton\u2019s challenge.<\/p>\n

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton won the state’s Republican Senate primary runoff Tuesday night, besting incumbent Senator John Cornyn following a hard-fought campaign capped off with an endorsement from President Donald Trump<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":96,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-elections"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump-Backed Texas AG Ken Paxton Beats John Cornyn in Senate Primary Runoff - American Housing Transition<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?p=97\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump-Backed Texas AG Ken Paxton Beats John Cornyn in Senate Primary Runoff - 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