“I won’t feel comfortable until the race is called,” Cornyn said. “Do not leave anything to chance. Cornyn’s counties are turning out,” Paxton’s team stated.
DALLAS — In what could be the final election of a storied political career, John Cornyn said he feels “optimistic” about the turnout in today’s Republican runoff election against Ken Paxton.
“I’m feeling optimistic. The early voting looks solid in places we did well on March 1st,” Cornyn told WFAA on Tuesday morning. “I won’t feel comfortable until the race is called. So, we’re continuing to work all day today and continue to encourage people to turn out to vote because that’s the only at this point, that’s just about the only thing that matters.”
Cornyn, running for his fifth term in the U.S. Senate, finished slightly ahead of Paxton in the March 3rd primary.
But last week, President Trump endorsed Paxton over Cornyn.
“I have consistently stood by President Trump, even when the Washington establishment and career politicians like John Cornyn turned their back on the President,” Paxton said in a statement at the time.
But Cornyn has pushed on since then and said he did not view the president’s endorsement of Paxton as a slight to himself.
“I honestly don’t think it was about me. I didn’t vote to convict him in his impeachment trial like Senator Cassidy (R-Louisiana) did. I didn’t oppose him across the board like [U.S. Congressman] Thomas Massie in Kentucky. So, I think it was really because he was frustrated with his inability to get some things done in the Senate on the timetable that he wanted,” Cornyn told WFAA on Tuesday.
Paxton has no scheduled events today before polls close.
Still, his campaign sent an email blast to supporters Tuesday morning saying: “Do not leave anything to chance. Cornyn’s counties are turning out. Every Paxton patriot must get to the polls right now.”
Already, this has become the most expensive political race in Texas history. Cornyn and his supporters have spent more than $90-million compared to Paxton’s $13-million.
Cornyn’s TV ads have slammed Paxton’s character, discussed his impeachment, and divorce. Yet, the attack ads have not seemed to have stuck with Republican primary voters as Paxton has led polls.
Paxton’s ads have characterized him as more aligned with Trump than Cornyn.
Still, Cornyn has generally done well in metro areas across the state, and those counties have seen turnout during last week’s early voting.
Polls close at 7 p.m. across most of the state.
That’s when live coverage of the election results, along with analysis, begins on WFAA+. Make sure to download the app, which is available on phones, tablets, and smart TVs.