Cornyn and Paxton flood Texas airwaves before GOP Senate runoff
AP News • • nation
Key Points:
- Texas Republican U.S. Senate candidates Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton held no public campaign events on the final day before Tuesday's runoff, focusing instead on heavy advertising efforts.
- Cornyn has spent over $109 million on advertising, outspending Paxton’s supporters by nearly nine-to-one over the past year, though the spending gap narrowed as the runoff approached.
- President Donald Trump endorsed Paxton on May 19, publicly criticizing Cornyn as disloyal and reaffirming his support for Paxton over the weekend, intensifying the intra-party rivalry.
- Cornyn emphasized his strong voting alignment with Trump and cautioned that Paxton’s ethical controversies could jeopardize the GOP seat in the general election against Democrat James Talarico.
- Both campaigns and their affiliated super PACs continued aggressive advertising, with Paxton’s side focusing on Trump’s endorsement and attacking Talarico, while Cornyn’s camp highlighted Paxton’s alleged flaws.