In a brutal repudiation of the GOP old guard,Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton crushed four-term incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican Senate runoff Tuesday night,winning by a commanding margin of roughly 63% to 37%.
The victory marks one of the biggest primary upsets in modern Texas political history.Cornyn, a powerful Senate insider and former Majority Whip, was unceremoniously dumped by his own party’s voters after more than two decades in Washington.
Paxton, the hard-charging conservative known for his fierce battles with the Biden administration and loyalty to Donald Trump, declared victory and wasted no time thanking the base.
“Texas has spoken loud and clear,” Paxton said in his victory speech. “We’re done with business as usual.”
Ken Paxton just kicked off his victory speech after defeating John Cornyn with a monumental line that will be remembered for decades.PAXTON: “Wow. To the people in this room, to the people watching at home and to the people of the great state of Texas, tonight we just made…pic.twitter.com/MgFevD3pe7
The race turned decisively after Trump endorsed Paxton just days before early voting ended. That seal of approval from the former president mobilized the MAGA base and proved once again that Trump remains the undisputed kingmaker in Republican primaries.
Cornyn led the initial March 3 primary with about 42% of the vote, but failed to clear 50%, forcing a runoff against Paxton, who took 41%. The contest quickly turned into a bloodbath, with both sides dumping tens of millions into attack ads.
Paxton hammered Cornyn as out-of-touch with Texas values and too cozy with the Washington establishment. Cornyn fired back, portraying Paxton as ethically compromised and a liability heading into the general election.
But in the end, Texas Republicans chose the fighter over the dealmaker.
The Paxton-Cornyn showdown wasn’t the only fireworks in Texas Tuesday night.
Source: ZeroHedge News
