HOUSTON — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxto, boosted by President Donald Trump’s endorsement, easily defeated four-term US Senator Senator John Cornyn in a Republican run-off primary on Tuesday night.While the outcome had been expected for weeks, it marks a stunning defeat for an incumbent who served in Congress for 23 years, including 12 years as a high-ranking member of the Senate Republican leadership team.The bruising contest set a record for the most expensive Senate primary campaign in US history.The result highlighted Trump’s continuing influence over the Republican Party and dealt a major blow to the party establishment in Washington, DC.It’s been 46 years since two incumbent senators were felled by voters in their own party in the same election cycle. Just 10 days ago, Louisiana senator Bill Cassidy failed to even reach his party’s run-off primary, finishing behind two Republican challengers.Cornyn, a longtime establishment conservative and former Republican whip, had represented Texas in the Senate since 2002 and entered the race as the favorite, backed by major donors and senior Republican figures.But the senator struggled to connect with Trump’s political base.Republican senators and top operatives believed Cornyn was a shoo-in for reelection if he could survive the primary and that Paxton was a weaker general election candidate. But Trump decided to ignore months of Senate leadership’s lobbying for the president to back Cornyn or stay out of the runoff by issuing a late endorsement of Paxton.Trump’s move effectively sealed Cornyn’s political fate. In his victory speech, Paxton called Trump’s endorsement “the most powerful force in politics.”Cornyn had previously criticized Trump and angered some conservatives by supporting bipartisan gun legislation after the 2022 Uvalde school shooting, while Paxton presented himself as one of Trump’s strongest allies.Trump’s backing reshaped the race, making Cornyn the latest Republican incumbent to lose after falling out of favour with the president.“Tonight, we’ve come up short,” Cornyn told reporters after the race was called.“I’ve always supported the Republican ticket,” he said, adding that he intended “to do so again”.The defeat makes Cornyn the first Republican senator from Texas to lose his party’s nomination for re-election and is likely to end his Senate career next year.“Tonight, we just made history,” Paxton told cheering supporters.The president’s national approval ratings may be near their weakest overall. But a series of red-state primaries in May have shown that conservative voters remain fiercely supportive of Trump – and willing to turn against those he deems disloyal.This month, Trump’s endorsement of Republican primary challengers ousted incumbents including Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy and Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie.Paxton has spent years facing legal, ethical and personal controversies, including a 2023 impeachment by the Republican-led Texas House of Representatives, allegations of bribery and misconduct, and a high-profile divorce.The 63-year-old was later acquitted by the Texas Senate and has repeatedly dismissed the allegations against him as politically motivated attacks.Paxton will now face Democratic state Representative James Talarico in a closely watched November race that could help decide control of the US Senate.Talarico, 37, has attracted moderate and independent voters, while some Republicans privately fear Paxton could struggle in a general election despite his popularity with Trump supporters.An internal Republican Senate campaign memo circulated last year warned that a Paxton nomination could give Democrats a rare opportunity to flip Texas and force Republicans to spend heavily defending a seat long considered safe.“Without a shadow of a doubt, I will be the Democrats’ number one target in November,” Paxton said.The candidate also predicted that Talarico is “going to raise more money than any Democrat in America”, and urged his followers to donate to his campaign.“If Republicans lose this state, we lose the country,” Paxton warned.Within minutes of Paxton being declared the winner of the Republican primary run-off for US Senate, the Democrat called him “the most corrupt politician in America” in a social media post.“He embodies the broken system we’re running against,” Talarico wrote on X.In another post, he invited Cornyn’s supporters to vote for him.“You have a place in our campaign,” Talarico wrote.
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