Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton got another boost in his campaign to unseat Sen. John Cornyn ahead of a Republican primary runoff on May 26, gaining the endorsement of Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah.
Owens, 74, a former NFL and college football star who announced earlier this year he would not seek reelection for a fourth term, has family roots in Texas. His father was born there, and Owens said in a statement to Breitbart that his great-grandfather escaped slavery via the Underground Railroad and settled in Smithville, Texas.
"He was later able to purchase 102 acres of farmland and build his American Dream," Owens said. "Texas has long been a safe haven for those seeking freedom. Ken Paxton has embodied that legacy as attorney general. Now, we need him in the Senate. The radical-left has had their sights set on Texas for too long, and we need bold leadership to ensure that doesn't happen. I'm proud to join many of my colleagues in endorsing Ken Paxton for United States Senate."
The Conservative Political Action Conference and Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, have also endorsed Paxton in recent weeks. Meanwhile, Cornyn has been endorsed by Texas Republican Reps. Randy Weber, Nathaniel Moran, and Roger Williams.
But the biggest name has yet to weigh in on the race: President Donald Trump, whose endorsement could put either candidate over the finish line.
Cornyn edged Paxton, 42% to 40.5%, on March 3 in a crowded Republican primary, forcing a runoff because no candidate won a majority of the votes. Trump wrote on Truth Social a day later he would be endorsing "soon" in the runoff and that he wanted the candidate he didn't endorse to "immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE!"
More than a month later, however, the president has stayed on the sidelines and downplayed the Democratic challenger, state Rep. James Talarico. In a March 22 post on Truth Social, Trump called him maybe "the worst candidate I have ever seen."
"Trump not endorsing at this point has had an impact," John Wittman, an unaffiliated Republican consultant and former adviser to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, told The Texas Tribune. "And so, the reality is that this is still a very close race. Paxton is probably the favorite right now, but this is absolutely a winnable race for John Cornyn."
Recent polls show Paxton building momentum heading into the runoff. A Quantus Insights poll released March 24 showed Paxton with a lead of 48.8% to 41.3% over Cornyn, who is seeking a fifth term, with 9.3% undecided.
The poll of 1,217 likely primary voters had a margin of error of plus or 2.8 percentage points.
A polling memo on the primary runoff from the Senate Majority PAC and Democratic pollster GQR showed a tighter race, Newsweek reported April 2. It was not immediately clear whether the memo was internal or publicly released. Paxton was ahead 47% to 42%, with 12% undecided.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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