{"id":242,"date":"2026-05-26T09:07:48","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T09:07:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=242"},"modified":"2026-05-26T09:07:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T09:07:48","slug":"john-cornyns-last-stand-and-democratic-fights-what-to-watch-in-tuesdays-texas-primary-runoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=242","title":{"rendered":"John Cornyn\u2019s last stand and Democratic fights: What to watch in Tuesday\u2019s Texas primary runoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tuesday\u2019s primary runoffs in Texas will put President Donald Trump\u2019s endorsement to the test again \u2014 the latest step in a mission to punish some incumbent Republicans Trump has deemed insufficiently loyal.<\/p>\n

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Trump is backing state Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Senate Republican primary runoff over longtime GOP Sen. John Cornyn, a move that prompted concerns from party members who believe Paxton could put the Senate seat at risk. The winner of the GOP runoff will face state Rep. James Talarico, who won the Democratic Senate nomination in March.<\/p>\n

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Texas also has a slew of House primary runoffs on tap Tuesday, including one in a battleground district where a secretive group with some Republican links has spent to boost a controversial Democrat. Two Democratic incumbents could also lose House primaries, and a handful of winners in solidly Republican seats will likely be heading to Congress next year.<\/p>\n

Polls in most of the state close at 8 p.m. ET and the full state closes at 9 p.m. ET. Here are the major races to watch.<\/p>\n

A major Senate race<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Trump\u2019s decision to endorse Paxton just one week before the GOP Senate runoff dealt a massive blow to Cornyn, who had also been jockeying for Trump\u2019s endorsement. Both the Paxton campaign and Lone Star Liberty, a super PAC supporting Paxton, quickly launched ads touting Trump\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n

Paxton and Cornyn are facing off in a head-to-head race for the Republican nomination after neither candidate won a majority of the vote in the March 3 primary. Cornyn finished narrowly ahead of Paxton, 42%-41%, in that contest.<\/p>\n

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Trump\u2019s endorsement was a late-breaking shift in the race despite months of pressure from GOP leaders, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who urged the president to back Cornyn\u2019s bid for a fifth term.<\/p>\n

They have argued that Paxton\u2019s controversies could put the Senate seat at risk. The state attorney general was impeached by the Republican-controlled state House on bribery and corruption charges in 2023, though the state Senate acquitted him. Paxton\u2019s wife also announced last year that she was divorcing him on \u201cbiblical grounds.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Trump ultimately sided with Paxton, describing him as a \u201cTrue MAGA warrior\u201d and noting Paxton supports eliminating the Senate filibuster to pass Trump\u2019s SAVE America Act, which would overhaul the nation\u2019s voting laws by requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote and a photo ID to cast a ballot.<\/p>\n

The president said Cornyn, meanwhile, was \u201cnot supportive of me when times were tough,\u201d citing Cornyn\u2019s hesitance to back him in 2016, when the senator stayed neutral in the GOP presidential primary. As Trump was looking to make a comeback in 2024, Cornyn said Trump\u2019s \u201ctime has passed him by,\u201d suggesting Trump wasn\u2019t the most electable presidential candidate \u2014 though he did eventually endorse Trump.<\/p>\n

Cornyn responded to the Paxton endorsement by noting that he supports Trump\u2019s agenda and that Trump \u201chas consistently called me a friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is now time for Texas Republican voters to decide if they want a strong nominee to help our GOP candidates down ballot and defeat Talarico in November, or a weak nominee who jeopardizes everything we care about,\u201d Cornyn said.<\/p>\n

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Cornyn has enjoyed a financial edge in the race, with his campaign and an allied super PAC, Texans for a Conservative Majority, spending nearly $20 million on ads in the race since the March primary, according to AdImpact. The ads have hit Paxton on his record in state office and past controversies. Paxton and an aligned outside group, Lone Star Liberty PAC, have spent around $5 million, largely slamming Cornyn on immigration.<\/p>\n

A controversial contested seat<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Democratic primary runoff in Texas\u2019 35th Congressional District has captured national attention, as a shadowy outside group with some GOP links has boosted a long-shot Democrat condemned by party leaders as antisemitic.<\/p>\n

Most Democratic elected officials have backed Johnny Garcia, who works in the Bexar County Sheriff\u2019s Office. But the runoff also includes sex therapist Maureen Galindo, who finished the first round narrowly ahead of Garcia despite having raised virtually no money.<\/p>\n

Galindo has faced broad criticism for a litany of controversial comments. Most recently, Democratic House leaders condemned her last week over an Instagram post in which she said she\u2019d turn an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center \u201cinto a prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking\u201d and that many Zionists are \u201cpedophiles.\u201d<\/p>\n

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