Trump-Backed Paxton Wins Texas Republican Senate Primary in a Romp, Setting Up Bitter Contest With Democrat James Talarico

The attorney general of Texas, Ken Paxton, will be the Republican Party’s nominee for the U.S. Senate this year after beating the Lone Star State’s longtime senator, John Cornyn, by more than 25 points in a primary runoff Tuesday. Mr. Paxton will face off against the Democratic state representative James Talarico, who has proven to be a formidable fundraiser with a strong base of support in the Hispanic community. Mr. Paxton, against whom Senate Republican leadership spent tens of millions of dollars to beat, was declared the winner less than a minute after the final polls closed in West Texas on Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time. President Trump’s surprise endorsement one week before the primary runoff helped unseat Mr. Cornyn, who has represented Texas in the Senate since 2003 after stints on the Texas Supreme Court and as Texas attorney general. “We just sent a Texas-sized message to Washington,” Mr. Paxton told supporters at his victory party. Delivering his concession speech at an intimate press conference on Tuesday, Mr. Cornyn did not mention Mr. Paxton by name, though he has said in the past that he would support the Republican ticket in November. He thanked his campaign team and his staff on Capitol Hill as he stood beside his wife and two daughters. Mr. Talarico has made clear that he does not care who his opponent is in the November election. After Mr. Trump endorsed Mr. Paxton last week, he said his campaign is prepared to beat the Republican nominee. Headed into November, Mr. Talarico has three major weapons in his arsenal — a massive fundraising advantage, a strong showing of support among Hispanic voters, and Mr. Paxton’s own personal scandals. In his more than 10 years as Texas attorney general, Mr. Paxton has been indicted for securities fraud, accused of bribery by some of his top aides, and faced allegations of adultery which eventually led his wife to endorse him on “biblical grounds.” None of the criminal charges resulted in a finding of guilt, though in 2025, Mr. Paxton’s securities fraud charges were dismissed in exchange for 100 hours of community service, 15 hours of legal ethics training, and $270,000 in restitution. He was acquitted by the Texas Senate in September 2023 after being impeached on 20 articles relating to bribery, abuse of office, and obstruction.In a statement on Tuesday, Mr. Talarico’s campaign said it would “stop” Mr. Paxton with the support of Texas voters. In the statement posted to X, staffers included a photo of Mr. Paxton’s mugshot from when he was indicted on securities fraud charges in 2015. The first problem for Mr. Paxton will be playing catch-up in the fundraising race. According to the most recent financial disclosures, Mr. Talarico has raised a staggering $40 million for his campaign while Mr. Paxton has raised a mere $7 million. Outside Republican groups plan on spending a large sum of money on keeping the Senate seat in the GOP’s hands, though they will be forced to divert resources from target states like Michigan and Georgia, as well as Senate seats they are planning on defending, including Alaska, Ohio, Iowa, Maine, and North Carolina. Following Mr. Trump’s endorsement of Mr. Paxton, Senator Lindsey Graham lamented the fact that the Texas race will draw a large sum of donor money away from other contests. Speaking to reporters on the day Mr. Trump sent out his endorsement announcement, Mr. Graham said it will likely cost three times as much to elect Mr. Paxton as it would have cost to re-elect Mr. Cornyn. “You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out the pathway for Paxton is there, but it’s more uphill,” Mr. Graham told reporters. The Republican majority leader, Senator John Thune — a notoriously amiable figure on Capitol Hill — made clear his distaste for Mr. Paxton after the Trump endorsement. Last week, he suggested that Texas is very much in play, but Republicans will either keep or expand the majority with or without the Texas seat. “We look at lots of races around the country and the [Senate] majority runs through a lot of different states,” Mr. Thune said at a press conference last week. “We … have a couple of offensive opportunities. So, one state doesn’t determine the outcome of this election.”Mr. Talarico’s strength among Latino voters is another major source of concern for the GOP. In the single round of voting in the Democratic Senate primary in March, more Democratic ballots were cast in multiple heavily Hispanic counties than had been cast for Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024. Despite Mr. Trump winning Hispanics in Texas by 10 points in 2024, Mr. Talarico consistently leads among the group. One poll from Texas Public Opinion Research found Mr. Talarico beating Mr. Paxton by 27 points among Hispanics — a 37-point shift away from Republicans. Another poll from the Texas Politics Project found Mr. Talarico leading Mr. Paxton by 16 points among Latino voters. Republicans have already homed in on a message to beat Mr. Talarico — that he is too weak, woke, and out-of-touch with Texans’ values to represent the state in the U.S. Senate. In a statement Tuesday, the National Republican Senatorial Committee — the outside group primarily responsible for protecting the GOP majority — made no mention of Mr. Paxton. Instead, the statement described Mr. Talarico as “a radical leftist who thinks God is nonbinary and that Texas should be a welcome mat for illegals.” “He is the most dangerous flank of the far left. Texas isn’t swapping brisket for open borders,” the group wrote.

Trump-Backed Paxton Wins Texas Republican Senate Primary in a Romp, Setting Up Bitter Contest With Democrat James Talarico

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