PLANO, Texas (AP) — Texas Attorney GeneralKen Paxtonwon the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, defeating four-term Sen. John Cornyn in the latest contest where President Donald Trump sought to defeat an incumbent he saw as not sufficiently loyal.

Trump endorsed Paxton last week. Paxton’s victory in Tuesday’s runoff makes Cornyn the first Republican senator from Texas to lose the party’s nomination for reelection.

President Donald Trump endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the GOP primary for U.S. Senate, supercharging his effort to oust incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in next week’s runoff. (AP Video by Kendria LaFleur)

Cheers rang through the ballroom at Paxton’s election night party when the race was called, as Van Halen’s “Jump” played and the stage filled with supporters holding Paxton campaign signs.

Cornyn’s campaign and allied groups spent roughly $109 million on advertising for the March 3 primary and Tuesday’s runoff. He had the backing of Senate GOP leaders who said he would be the stronger general election candidate.

But Trump endorsed Paxton as part of his effort to dislodge GOP officeholders he views as less than devout in their support of him. Cornyn said in 2023 as Trump was running to return to the White House that his time “has passed him by.”

Paxton will run against state Rep. James Talarico in November.

Tuesday’s runoffs also will decide DemocraticU.S. House nomineesfor districts in Dallas and Houston that overwhelmingly support Democrats, and a San Antonio-area seat the party wants to flip.

Cornyn led Paxton inthe March primarybut failed to win a majority. That was after Cornyn and his supporters waged a monthslong ad campaign, mostly attacking Paxton over ethical and personal questions. The two-term attorney general was acquitted on corruption charges in a2023 impeachment trial, where allegations of extramarital affairs surfaced. Paxton’s wife filed for divorce last year, citing “biblical grounds.”

The alliance of pro-Cornyn groups has continued its attack, outspending Paxton’s campaign and two allied super PACs $16.5 million to $5.9 million since March 3, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact.

Source: Drudge Report