Apparently it takes more than a $100 million war chest and the prospect of a scandal-tarred candidate running in the general election to overcome the endorsement of President Donald Trump in a Texas Republican primary.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton clobbered incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in Tuesday’s GOP runoff, winning the party’s nomination with 63% of the vote with more than of half of the votes counted. The runoff followed a March primary in which neither candidate broke the 50% mark.
The difference maker this time? Paxton came armed with a last-minute endorsement from Trump.
Apparently, that was enough for the Texas AG to seize the nomination even though he came into the race with a scandal sheet longer than an H-E-B checkout line before an overnight freeze. That baggage included an FBI investigation, a guilty plea on state securities fraud charges, allegations of multiple extramarital affairs and a Texas House impeachment vote for bribery and abuse of office.
“Clearly, Texas Republican voters are willing to abandon issues of morality and concerns about a candidate’s character and integrity — as long as they perceive that candidate is on their side,” University of Texas-San Antonio political scientist Jon Taylor said. “The earlier GOP had a very different take, but since then, we’ve had years of Trump.”
Trump’s endorsement was also enough to overcome Paxton being outspent by his opponent eight times over, according to some counts. Spending in the race shattered records, becoming the priciest Senate primary in history at $165.1 million in ad spending, according to AdImpact.
At the end of the day, Republican primary voters remain all-in with MAGA even as Trump’s approval rating remains in freefall.
It didn’t help Cornyn’s bootlicking subservience to Trump in the buildup to the race came across as inauthentic and weak-kneed to many voters. Or that the senator was better known for his skill as a patrician powerbroker than connecting with constituents.
“Cornyn was good at the sausage-making and the behind-the-scenes politics, even if he never really connected with voters,” Taylor said. “But, ultimately, that was his downfall: ‘Who is this guy, and who cares?’”
That said, Paxton’s victory comes with downsides for the Republican Party.
Trump’s decision to back the culture-war-obsessed Texas attorney general over Cornyn, a favorite of the Republican establishment has driven a wedge into an already divided party, according to GOP insiders.
“The vitriol is going to be real,” a Texas Republican state lawmaker and Cornyn supporter told Politico on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, Talarico will be able to leverage the narrative that Cornyn already spent tens of millions to blast out over the airwaves that Paxton is a cheater and crook who got rich by abusing his office. UTSA’s Taylor said he fully expects the Democrat to go for the jugular in the primary.
“If you think Talarico isn’t going to engage in negative campaigning just because he’s got Christian values and is a seminarian, think again,” Taylor said.
Even if Talarico falls short in closing the deal, Paxton’s name on the Republican side of the ticket suggests his own party will be spending valuable cash amid panic over the prospect of losing another Senate seat in a punishing midterm election, according to experts.
“The financial reality of Trump’s decision to back Paxton, who is a notably weak fundraiser, also can’t be ignored,” Cook Political Report analyst Jessica Taylor wrote. “Even if Paxton doesn’t cost Republicans a seat that Democrats have coveted for decades, he will at least cost them millions of dollars they could be using to try to flip seats like Michigan, Georgia or New Hampshire — or to defend their majority on the increasingly widening map.”
Sign Up for SA Current newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed
Related Stories
John Cornyn is trying to fend off Ken Paxton. Both parties are picking attorney general nominees. And an oil and gas regulatory race has become uncharacteristically costly.
During the reality-show president’s time in office, the GOP resembles one of those families neighbors whisper about behind drawn curtains.
Nearly 14 months and $135 million later, Texas’ blockbuster Republican Senate primary will finally be decided Tuesday.