Houston, Texas - President Donald Trump further cemented his grip over the Republican Party on Tuesday as his favored candidate in a bitter Texas primary runoff, scandal-plagued Ken Paxton, defeated incumbent Senator John Cornyn.
Paxton's victory, quickly called by Fox News and CNN after polls closed, underscored Trump's continued power to make or break Republican political careers – even as lawmakers on Capitol Hill begin to rebel against the president.
Cornyn, a four-term senator and former Republican whip, began the year as the establishment favorite.
Trump's late endorsement transformed the race, giving Paxton a decisive boost and leaving Cornyn as the latest Republican incumbent punished after falling out of step with the president.
The result once again exposed the central tension facing Republicans ahead of November's midterm elections: a Trump endorsement can be decisive in a primary, but the president often favors hard-right candidates whom party strategists fear could prove weaker in a general election.
Paxton, Texas' attorney general, has survived years of legal, ethical, and personal scandal, including a 2023 impeachment by the Republican-led Texas House, allegations of bribery and misconduct, and a messy divorce.
Cornyn, by contrast, was a straight-laced institutional conservative who had represented Texas in the Senate since 2002 and built deep ties with the state's donor class and Republican leadership in Washington.
Paxton's win is likely to deepen unease among Senate Republicans, many of whom had urged Trump to support Cornyn and now fear the party will have to spend heavily defending a seat that should not normally be competitive.
The 63-year-old will face Democrat James Talarico, a state representative and rising national figure who has raised large sums and argues that both Republicans represent a broken political system tilted toward wealthy donors.