Middleton wins Texas GOP attorney general runoff over Rep. Roy
Middleton, currently a State Senator, emerged victorious after a contentious fight.

A CNN analyst laughed off attacks on a Texas Democrat's chances of winning a Senate seat.Pundit Paul Begala sniffed the air as CNN conservative commentator Scott Jennings listed off the problems with Rep. James Talarico (D-TX), who will challenge Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for a Senate seat in November."You know what I'm smelling, Scott?" Begala said, as Jennings blasted Talarico's views on transgender identity, theology, and eating meat.Jennings's attack on Talarico's chances in Texas irked Begala, who became stirred in his seat. Begala could smell "fear, panic, your stinking panic," he told Jennings."You guys fear this guy," Begala said about Talarico. "He's more popular than Trump in Texas, brother!"Jennings demanded of Begala, "Can you explain his position?""You know what I'm not for?" Begala said. "I'm not for $6.89 hamburgers, okay? James actually eats beef, but he can afford to. Most Texans can't anymore."Begala accused Paxton of becoming "a millionaire" despite having "a government salary." "How does that happen?" Begala demanded. "He can afford a hamburger. This is what it's going to be about. You want it to be about woke. I want it to be about broke."Jennings tried to ask Begala, "Are you a normal person?"Begala repeated, "I can smell the fear," while waving his hands in the air as if to soak in the aroma.
Middleton, currently a State Senator, emerged victorious after a contentious fight.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was roundly mocked on Tuesday night after he gave his victory speech for defeating incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) in the state's runoff election. Paxton was declared the winner just after polls closed at 9 p.m. ET. He will move on to face Democratic Texas state lawmaker James Talarico in November, a race that some GOP pundits have suggested will be expensive because Paxton is not known for his fundraising skills. During his speech, Paxton took a shot at Talarico by calling him a "vegan" and a "threat to our way of life." "He's a threat to our very way of life and our values," Paxton said dryly. "I mean, he's a vegan who thinks God in nonbinary, and he thinks there are six biological genders." Political analysts and observers roundly mocked Paxton online. "Paxton is favored just because of the state's partisan lean, but it is wild to me that this guy has made it this far in state politics. He has no juice! none! zilch!" Jamelle Bouie, a columnist at The New York Times, posted on Bluesky. "Incredible that they've taken Talarico saying his order at a particular taco place was a potato, egg, and cheese breakfast taco and turned that into 'he's a vegan,'" immigration attorney Aaron Reichlin-Melnick posted on Bluesky. "Just straight-up old-school flim-flam.""These people are too online, I don’t think the average person even knows what it means to say God is nonbinary or importantly cares when gas is $4 a gallon," Zaid Jilani, a writer, posted on X. "I hope the Texans who voted for him can stuff red meat in their gas tanks, which — on account of having a hole — must be female, while they are praying to be able to afford their groceries," Branislav Slantchev, a political science professor at UCSD, posted on X.
Republican efforts to interfere in a Democratic congressional primary in Texas ended in failure on Tuesday night.According to Decision Desk HQ and the Associated Press, Bexar County Sheriff's Deputy Johnny Garcia has defeated sex therapist Maureen Galindo in a closely-watched contest for the Democratic nomination for Texas's 35th Congressional District.Galindo attracted national attention for a number of extreme and antisemitic statements, including the vow to convert Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities into prisons for "American Zionists" and claims that her opponent was involved in human trafficking.The situation was further amplified by reporting that Lead Left PAC, a shadowy progressive-sounding political group that was in fact controlled by Republican operatives, was pumping money into the race on Galindo's behalf — an evident attempt to boost the candidate whom Republicans saw as weaker.The final few weeks of the campaign saw a huge spectrum of national and local Democratic leaders endorsing Garcia, from Blue Dogs to progressives, as well as an aggressive ad campaign warning voters that Galindo had an extremist record and was being supported by Republican dark money.The 35th District is one of many that were redrawn to be more GOP-leaning in the Trump-backed congressional gerrymander. Democrats remain hopeful that in a heavily anti-Trump environment, they can still win the seat.
Four-term Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) lost renomination to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday in a GOP primary that became a referendum on loyalty to President Donald Trump. The Trump-backed Paxton received 62.5% of the votes compared to Cornyn’s 37.5% when the Associated Press called the race. The three-term attorney general will face off […]
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has defeated Sen.
Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, overcame scandals and a significant fund-raising disadvantage to win. His victory sets up the general-election clash that Democrats had hoped for.
Some Republicans fretting about the upcoming midterms on social media could not seem to squeeze into a comfortable position Tuesday night after incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) lost his seat to Republican challenger Ken Paxton.MAGA faithful delighted in the news, with right-wing pundits like Nick Sorter crowing victory Tuesday night after results rolled in.“HEY THUNE: Texas is sending a MESSAGE to you. You could’ve avoided this ENTIRE PRIMARY and KEPT John Cornyn if you would’ve just passed the SAVE America Act,” Sorter said on X. “You snubbed us, thinking you could just BUY elections. YOU WERE WRONG. Voters are REBUKING you.”“The day of the RINO is over and the RINO's who are still in the Senate better take notice,” yowled MAGA influencer Bill Mitchell on X.“Go against President Trump and his America First agenda at your own peril,” said another. “The old Republican Party is dead. The voters are fully behind Trump, and opposing him is now a career-ender. Just ask John Cornyn, Liz Cheney, Mitt Romney, Adam Kinzinger, and the rest of the never Trump losers who got primaried, booed off stage, or exiled into political oblivion.”“Paxton will face Democrat James Talarico in November, win that election, and begin representing Texas come January in the senate,” said right-wing radio host Clay Travis on X. But other, less jingoistic conservatives appeared to twitch their fingers at the news.“Dems will be happy to get Paxton with all his baggage,” said former Fox News sportswriter Robert Lusetich under Travis’ X post.“Paxton will win easily after Democrats spend over $100 million convincing themselves Talarico has a chance,” Travis posted directly beneath Lusetich — but Lusetich was unconvinced.“But think of the ads that $100m buys, Clay! 2023 impeachment by his own party in the Texas House + long-running securities fraud indictments + federal whistle-blower investigations + Trump lackey,” insisted Lusetich. “Key though is 15-20 percent of GOP in Texas are Bush Republicans & they're staying home.”Talarico himself was already courting bitter Cornyn voters on the night of his defeat, announcing on X: “I want to thank Senator John Cornyn for his years representing our state. We don’t agree on everything, but we both still believe in public service. To Senator Cornyn’s supporters: you have a place in our campaign.”Dem strategists and influencers, meanwhile, were already out in force and thrilled with the news, with one declaring on X: “Congrats Ken Paxton for handing the Senate to Democrats in 2026.Another X Dem suggested: “Dems need to just run clips of Paxton being insane over and over and over again.”
With the support of President Trump, Mr. Paxton is trying to unseat Senator John Cornyn in a high-profile Republican runoff.