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Attorney General Ken\u00a0Paxton and Sen. John Cornyn, Republican rivals in Tuesday’s Senate runoff.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Julio Cortez Jack Myer\/AP<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON \u2013 For months, Texans have watched\u00a0Republicans John Cornyn<\/a> and Ken Paxton<\/a> unload on each other with ads about infidelity<\/a>, ethics scandals and who\u2019s more loyal to Donald Trump.<\/p>\n State GOP Chairman Abraham George<\/a> stepped Thursday between the flying political shrapnel with a plea to stop unloading on each other and save some firepower for the general election.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m calling on both Senate candidates to pull all negative advertising,\u201d George posted on X. \u201cIt\u2019s time to start preparing for November, and we can finish this runoff campaign on a positive note from both sides.\u201d<\/p>\n Paxton, fresh off President Donald Trump\u2019s<\/a> endorsement, quickly embraced the idea. Cornyn, fighting for his political survival, rejected it.<\/p>\n The\u00a0ceasefire request comes in the waning days of a battle that has raged for more than a year, featuring blistering attacks between the two camps.\u00a0<\/p>\n Make Dallas News a preferred source so your search results prioritize writing by actual people, not AI.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n George\u2019s post raises the prospect that at least some Texas Republican leaders view a Trump-backed Paxton as the likely runoff winner on Tuesday and are hoping to limit further damage to him ahead of the November general election.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Republican runoff winner will face Democrat James\u00a0Talarico<\/a>, a state representative from Austin who won the nomination after a bruising primary contest with U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett<\/a> of Dallas.<\/p>\n Cornyn edged Paxton in the March 3 primary but fell short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff. For the past couple of months, Paxton and Cornyn have continued to spend time and money blasting each other.<\/p>\n Cornyn\u2019s ads try to paint Paxton as morally reckless and ethically corrupt, using religious imagery, affair allegations and tabloid-style mockery to make him seem unfit for office.<\/p>\n Paxton\u2019s ads counter by casting Cornyn as an aging Washington insider too cozy with Democrats and disconnected from the populist, Trump-driven MAGA base.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Talarico, meanwhile, has focused on bringing his side together and raising money for November.<\/p>\n Sen. John Cornyn\u00a0speaks during a campaign event at Hard Eight BBQ, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in The Colony.<\/p>\n Chitose Suzuki\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Cornyn not letting up<\/p>\n Paxton agreed it was time to shift to a more positive tone.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWe have already changed our TV ad traffic starting today to ensure our campaign ends on a positive note and that we can focus on beating the leftist lunatic in the fall,\u201d Paxton said in a post on X that came shortly after George\u2019s. \u201cI’m calling on Cornyn to do the same for the good of our party. Let’s keep Texas Red!\u201d<\/p>\n Trump sought to tip the scales toward\u00a0Paxton this week with a last-minute endorsement. Paxton and his allies already had released more upbeat advertising spots on Trump’s support, featuring images of the president with\u00a0Paxton in various settings.<\/p>\n Cornyn dismissed the idea of any detente with early voting in the runoff concluding Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cI know you are desperate to avoid accountability, Ken,\u201d the Cornyn campaign\u00a0said on X. \u201cWe need a few more days to burn in the fact that you plea bargained with a child sex offender, offering them only one day in prison and no sex offender registry as a favor to\u00a0Nate Paul’s lawyer.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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