In a heated race, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the primary runoff election following one of the most expensive campaigns in the state’s history. Paxton garnered about 63.8% of Texas Republican votes to claim the victory.
With both candidates vying for approval by President Donald Trump, Paxton received the late endorsement just last week, despite having been persistently accused of scandals involving allegations of infidelity, fraud and abuse of office. Trump chose Paxton over Cornyn, saying the incumbent was a “a good man” but “was not supportive of me when times were tough.”
Galveston state Sen. Mayes Middleton won the GOP nominee for attorney general, after defeating U.S. Rep. Chip Roy. Middleton, who has no experience in the AG office and is an oil and gas executive in his family’s company, put almost $17 million of his own money into the race.
Middleton will now face his former colleague, Dallas state Sen. Nathan Johnson, in November. Johnson beat out Joe Jaworski on Tuesday night, securing his chance to try to reclaim the agency for the Democrats.
This is the first open race for attorney general in more than a decade, after Attorney General Ken Paxton decided to challenge U.S. Sen. John Cornyn. Tom Sell prevailed over Abraham Enriquez during the runoff election for the Republican nomination for Texas Congressional District 19.
Sell’s campaign has focused on a variety of issues, from prioritizing energy dominance in the West Texas powerhouse region to enforcement of “strong border an immigration policies.”
The West Texas region’s incumbent, Congressman Jodey Arrington (R-TX-19), will step down after the completion of his current term. Sell will face Democrat Kyle Rable in the general election in November.
Bo French defeated Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright in the primary runoff, prevailing in a campaign where French prioritized issues like fighting DEI and Sharia Law over traditional regulatory issues.
French will face Democratic state Rep. Jon Rosenthal in the November general election. A Democrat has not held a seat on the railroad commission in decades.