{"id":310906,"date":"2026-05-27T14:51:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T14:51:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/310906\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T14:51:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T14:51:26","slug":"ken-paxtons-win-in-texas-senate-primary-gifts-democrats-their-2026-midterms-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/310906\/","title":{"rendered":"Ken Paxton\u2019s win in Texas Senate primary gifts Democrats their 2026 midterms strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just as some Democrats around the country fervently hoped, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in Tuesday\u2019s GOP primary runoff<\/a>. Had Cornyn prevailed, he likely would have easily won re-election against Democratic nominee James Talarico. But with Paxton on the ballot, Democrats have at least a chance at nabbing the seat.\u00a0This election is about more than control of the Senate, as important as that is. It also spotlights the issue of corruption, which Democrats can run on not just in Texas, but across the country.<\/p>\n

Though for years Democrats have hoped that the right combination of circumstances could turn Texas blue, the state remains consistently red. Democrats have not won any statewide race since 1994. Cornyn was re-elected to his seat by nearly 10% in 2020 and Donald Trump won the state by 14% in 2024.<\/p>\n

On one hand you have the state\u2019s existing Republican tilt, and on the other you have the corruption issue. <\/p>\n

Paxton\u2019s record, however, gives Democrats new hope. Much like Trump, it\u2019s hard to list the Texas attorney general\u2019s scandals because there are so many of them. Some are relatively petty: In 2013, Paxton nabbed himself<\/a> a $1,000 Montblanc pen someone had left in the basket at a courthouse metal detector, only returning it a year later after security footage revealed the pen pilferage (Paxton claimed he took the pen accidentally).<\/p>\n

Others are far more sweeping: In 2015, Paxton was indicted<\/a> for securities fraud; the case dragged on for nine years, and was finally resolved when he agreed to pay nearly $300,000 in restitution and perform community service and \u201clegal ethics education.\u201d In 2020, attorneys who worked in Paxton\u2019s office as attorney general reported him<\/a> to the FBI, alleging that he had engaged in bribery and abuse of office. Among other things, it was alleged<\/a> that Paxton encouraged a developer to hire a woman with whom the attorney general was having an extramarital affair. The Department of Justice eventually closed the investigation<\/a>, but several of the whistleblowers successfully sued Paxton for $6.6 million \u2014 to be paid<\/a> by Texas taxpayers. (Throughout these scandals, and even after those restitutions, Paxton insisted he\u2019d committed no wrongdoing.)<\/p>\n

Three years later, the Republican-dominated Texas House impeached Paxton on charges stemming from the whistleblowing and the affair. The Texas Senate acquitted Paxton<\/a>, with his wife Angela, a state senator, recusing herself. In 2025, however, Angela announced<\/a> that \u201cafter 38 years of marriage, I filed for divorce on biblical grounds,\u201d adding that \u201cin light of recent discoveries, I do not believe that it honors God or is loving to myself, my children, or Ken to remain in the marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPlay<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

So on one hand you have the state\u2019s existing Republican tilt, and on the other you have the corruption issue. Talarico recognized the importance of this issue early in the campaign. He held a press conference<\/a> in January outside Paxton\u2019s office to tout his own anti-corruption agenda. And after media outlets called the race for Paxton on Tuesday night, Talarico put out a video<\/a> calling his opponent \u201cthe most corrupt politician in America.\u201d<\/p>\n

There may never be a better time to run on questions of corruption. Trump\u2019s actions in his second term are truly mind-boggling: from the gold-plated ballroom<\/a> and the slush fund for insurrectionists<\/a> to the way the administration is slashing regulation<\/a> around crypto and prediction markets while the Trump family benefits from them, to the $400 million plane Qatar gifted Trump, to the government contracts given to companies<\/a> with ties to Trump\u2019s sons, to the Gulf emirates pouring money<\/a> into Trump family firms.\u00a0(The White House says there are no conflicts of interest when it comes to Trump or his family.)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\"Paul\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPaul Waldman<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPaul Waldman is a journalist and author focused on politics and culture.\t\t<\/p>\n

\"MS<\/p>\n

\u00a9\u00a02026 Versant Media, LLC<\/p>\n

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