Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the state's U.S. Senate Republican primary results showed that Lone Star State voters "want new leadership."
Speaking to supporters late Tuesday night, Paxton declared that grassroots conservatives had delivered a powerful message to Washington after a closely watched primary race against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
"Well, you know, John Cornyn said he was concerned about a bunch of radicals who were going to show up to vote today," Paxton told a cheering crowd. "It looks like you all showed up."
With neither candidate surpassing the 50% threshold required to win outright, Cornyn and Paxton will advance to a May runoff that will determine the Republican nominee in one of the nation's most closely watched Senate contests.
Paxton framed the results as a rebuke of the political establishment, arguing that voters rejected a flood of campaign spending backing the incumbent.
"John Cornyn spent around $100 million trying to buy this seat," Paxton said. "We spent around $5 million ... Texas is not for sale."
He said the outcome showed that many Texans are ready for a change after decades of Cornyn serving in elected office.
"Nearly 60% of Texas voters who have known Cornyn for over 40 years ... chose to vote against the incumbent," Paxton said. "That's historic. Tonight, change was on the ballot and change won."
Paxton, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, compared the energy in the room to the atmosphere at Mar-a-Lago when Trump announced his 2024 presidential campaign.
"Right now I feel that same momentum — the same sense that history is turning," Paxton said.
Trump has yet to issue an endorsement in the Texas GOP Senate race.
Throughout his remarks, Paxton sharply criticized Cornyn's record, accusing the four-term senator of siding with Democrats on issues such as gun control and immigration while failing to deliver results for Texas.
"For too long, John Cornyn has turned his back on us," Paxton said. "While he was cutting deals on gun control and amnesty, I was suing corrupt [former President] Joe Biden over 107 times."
Paxton highlighted his tenure as attorney general, pointing to legal battles against the Biden administration as evidence of his conservative credentials and willingness to fight Washington.
"When he compromised, we fought," Paxton said. "That's the contrast."
The runoff follows an expensive and contentious primary in which Rep. Wesley Hunt also competed, preventing either leading candidate from securing a majority of the vote.
On the Democrat side, state Rep. James Talarico won his party's nomination Tuesday night, setting up a general election in November against the eventual Republican nominee.
Paxton closed by urging Republicans to unite ahead of the runoff and the general election, warning that Democrats are targeting the race as they seek to regain control of the Senate.
"This campaign is bigger than one person," he said. "It's about the future of Texas and the future of our great country."
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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