Paxton Makes Final Pitch in Texas Senate Race

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is heading into the final days of his Republican primary runoff against Sen. John Cornyn 

 

with the backing of President Donald Trump.

“I don’t know if y'all noticed this, but Donald Trump endorsed me,” Paxton told a small rally in a town outside Austin, drawing applause from the crowd.

Tuesday's election has drawn national attention and significant campaign spending. It has also become the latest contest in which Trump is backing challengers against Republican incumbents, including Cornyn.

That effort has often been successful for Trump. Earlier this week, Republican Rep. Thomas Massie lost his Kentucky primary against Ed Gallrein, whom Trump endorsed and supported. Trump has also backed successful challengers against incumbents in Louisiana and Indiana.

Paxton has recently turned more of his attention toward the Democratic nominee, state Rep. James Talarico. Paxton opened his event Thursday with criticism of Talarico, a sign of his confidence heading into Tuesday.

Paxton then outlined his political record and argued he should be the Republican nominee, pointing to lawsuits he has filed defending conservative policies and priorities. Supporters at the event said that record appeals to many Trump supporters.

 

“He’s a fighter, he’s a person of action, he’s proven that as attorney general,” said Jeffrey Sonnier, 72, 

 

who attended the rally.

As for Cornyn, said Sonnier, “he’s inactive for five years and digs out to become a supposed active Republican MAGA person every six years.”

Paxton’s campaign said Thursday that it is pulling negative ads against Cornyn. Following Trump’s endorsement Tuesday, the campaign and a super PAC supporting Paxton instead began airing separate ads highlighting Trump’s support.

Cornyn’s campaign and groups supporting him, however, were outspending pro-Paxton groups by roughly three-to-one and had resumed airing an ad that notes Cornyn’s support for Trump’s agenda and includes clips of Trump praising Cornyn.

“He's called me a friend, and that's no surprise because I've supported him and his policies, you may have seen a commercial or two to that effect, 99.3% of the time,” Cornyn said in a video posted to X from a recent event.

Cornyn has also worked to focus attention on Paxton’s character and past controversies.

The campaign has emphasized Paxton’s past controversies, including impeachment proceedings in which he was acquitted.

If Paxton is the nominee, those issues are likely to become part of a general election campaign against Talarico,

 

where voters may be less “willing to overlook all the corruption, the self-dealing and the scandals,” Cornyn argued at a recent campaign event. “Ken Paxton would hand it to (Democrats) on a silver platter.”

Paxton supporters at Thursday’s rally said the accusations would not affect their support.

“He’s had his flaws, but so have we; we all make mistakes,” said Daniel Vega, 18, adding, “He’s repented, let’s move on.”

Through this week, Cornyn’s campaign and allied groups will have spent roughly $90 million on advertising, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact, including more than $20 million since the March 3 primary election.

Paxton’s campaign and a supporting super PAC have combined to spend roughly $10.5 million on advertising, including about $6.1 million since the March 3 primary.

The volume of advertising has saturated the race.

“The commercials are leading me against Paxton, that he might be a little crooked,” said Gail Licea, 74, a retired registered nurse who attended a Cornyn event before Trump’s endorsement. She also said, “I’ve been led to believe that sometimes John Cornyn doesn’t back President Donald Trump, and that concerns me.”

Wayne Hamilton, former executive director of the Texas Republican Party, said the concentration of advertising may make it difficult for any single message to significantly influence voters before Tuesday’s election.

“There is so much noise out there right now,” said Hamilton, who advises Gov. Greg Abbott and is unaffiliated with either Senate candidate. “I don’t know how any one message is going to break through.”