Editors at National Review Online analyze the Lone Star State’s high-profile US Senate race.
So far in the Texas Senate race, it’s the worst case for Republicans.
While Democrats decisively chose State Representative James Talarico over Dallas-area Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett — a clear vote in favor of perceived electability over “Resistance”-themed television celebrity — the Republicans have sent their Senate contest into overtime, in what projects to be an expensive contest with the two contenders, incumbent Senator John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton, continuing to maul one another.
The only way it could get worse for the GOP is if Paxton wins.
That outcome looks less likely than it did 24 hours ago. Cornyn has long looked vulnerable, but instead of placing well behind Paxton on Tuesday as expected, he held his ground, showing unexpected strength in many of Paxton’s regional strongholds. The senator currently leads 42–41 with 96 percent of the vote counted, and although that gap may tighten, most expected his first-round result to be far worse (with three major candidates in the race, the primary was always destined for a second round). Cornyn thus emerges from the first round bruised but standing firmly on his feet, with a real fighting chance in the May runoff.
With the Republican race yet unresolved, GOP voters in the Lone Star State now have a breathing spell to consider the gravity of the choice offered to them on May 26: Democratic voters showed discipline in rejecting their own flashy bomb thrower in favor of a plausible statewide candidate. Will Republicans do the same? …
… Ken Paxton’s ethical, legal, and personal problems are known to all in the State of Texas; he has more baggage than could fit in the belly of a 747. Indicted by Texas authorities in 2015 for securities fraud, he delayed prosecution for nearly a decade before taking a plea deal in 2024.
