Texans will vote Tuesday in a U.S. Senate primary runoff where incumbent four-term Sen. John Cornyn is facing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, in an expensive, drawn-out race that has caught President Donald Trump's attention.
Trump's endorsement of Paxton, who he called 'a true MAGA Warrior,' came late in the race and marked another effort by the president to punish Republican lawmakers he sees as insufficiently loyal.
The winner of the Republican nomination will run against Democratic state Rep. James Talarico in November..
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What we’re watching: the geographic split between Cornyn and Paxton
There wasn't a clear geographic divide in the March 3 primary results. The tight margins in Houston, Dallas and their surrounding areas underscore how the battle lines cut across, rather than neatly between, Texas' urban and suburban regions.
Cornyn — whom Paxton attacked as too aligned with D.C. Republicans and not loyal enough to Trump — led in the state's largest counties, including those encompassing the metro areas of Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio, Austin and Houston. But Paxton remained competitive, trailing by roughly 1,900 votes in Harris County, home to Houston, and 4,100 votes in Bexar County, home to San Antonio. Tonight's runoff could be decided by who builds a stronger geographic base, particularly in the Houston area, where Rep. Wesley Hunt, who finished third, outperformed his state average.
A GOP voter who backed Cornyn leans toward supporting Democrat Talarico
Dallas-area contractor Raymond Schramm said Tuesday that he’s concerned about healthcare and Republican-authored cuts in subsidies for Affordable Care Act coverage, and he has misgivings about how the war with Iran has been conducted.
He voted for President Donald Trump but thinks the Senate needs someone who will “have a little bit of a difference.” He likes Talarico because he seems kind.
“I like him. He’s a nice guy. He speaks well,” he said. “I don’t believe in the party system.”
Cornyn says Trump’s attacks on him are misplaced
“My situation is a little different than Massie’s or Cassidy’s,” said Cornyn, referencing two other Republican incumbents who were more critical of Trump and recently lost their primaries under pressure from the president and candidates he backed.
In his case, Cornyn said on Fox News Radio’s The Brian Kilmeade Show, Trump is “frustrated I think with the Senate as a whole.”
There are “grifters,” the senator continued, who are “claiming I am opposed to the president’s agenda and I think that’s caused some confusion with the president himself, but I’ve been supportive.”
‘We might as well start term limits now’ for Cornyn, one Dallas-area voter says
Legal assistant Calise Perry considers herself “100%” Republican and voted Tuesday for challenger Ken Paxton over incumbent Cornyn in Texas’ GOP runoff.
The 65-year-old Garland resident said Paxton, the Texas attorney general, is a fighter, “and that’s what we need right now.” The runoff came a week after President Donald Trump endorsed Paxton.
“Cornyn’s been in way too long, and it’s time for him to retire,” she said. “He’s been in office a long time and really hasn’t done much, as far as I can see.”