![\"Texas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/e21fc02e-43da-475d-80bf-07c3750ef70a.jpeg\" "\\"Texas")
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton <\/p>\n
Kylie Cooper<\/p>\n
Reuters<\/p>\n
State leaders and candidates on Friday preached unity from the main stage of the Texas Republican Party\u2019s state convention in Houston, following a bitter primary season where the race for U.S. Senate topped the ticket.<\/p>\n
With May 26 past, it\u2019s time for Republicans to focus on winning in the state\u2019s Nov. 3 general election, said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the GOP nominee for the Senate seat.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know you\u2019ve heard that today,\u201d Paxton said from the convention\u2019s main stage. \u201cI\u2019ve won three statewide elections because we know how to bring the party together when it matters, and that\u2019s exactly what we\u2019re going to do right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
He continued: \u201cI want everyone to know, no matter who you supported in the primary, I will work every day to earn your support, because right now the stakes could not be higher.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paxton\u2019s remarks and similar messages from GOP elected officials and candidates come as Republican leaders in Texas seek to bring the party together against Democrats in November after a bitter primary season, where statewide incumbents, such as Senator John Cornyn, lost their reelection bids. (Cornyn lost in the primary to Paxton.)<\/p>\n
The attorney general said he is the Democrats\u2019 \u201cnumber one target\u201d for this year\u2019s November election.<\/p>\n
\u201cFlipping Texas is their top priority, but let me tell you this: To every Democrat across the country, hear me loud and clear. This is Texas and we\u2019re not going to let you take it,\u201d Paxton said.<\/p>\n
He later called his Democratic opponent, state Rep. James Talarico, \u201ca threat to everything we hold dear as Texans.\u201d<\/p>\n
Talarico\u2019s campaign didn\u2019t comment on Paxton\u2019s remarks Friday night.<\/p>\n
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows took turns addressing convention attendees before Paxton\u2019s speaking slot. Patrick told the crowd that Friday is the first time in more than 20 years that the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the Texas House are all speaking at the state convention.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are showing unity to this party,\u201d Patrick said from the convention stage. \u201cWe must win through unity in November.\u201d<\/p>\n
Abbott book-ended his speech with talk of defeating Democrats in the fall.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we Republicans unite, we are unbeatable,\u201d Abbott said. \u201cThat unity is going to drive victory this November and no one does a better job than you all at turning out that vote. Together we\u2019re going to demolish the Democrats.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ahead of Paxton\u2019s speech, the Texas Democratic Party called the attorney general \u201cmorally unfit for office\u201d citing a \u201crecord of corruption\u201d and criticized his office\u2019s handling of a child sexual abuse case.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cTexas Republicans must answer for putting one of the most corrupt politicians in America at the top of their ticket,\u201d spokesperson Ryan Martin said in a written statement.<\/p>\n In 2023, the Texas House approved 20 articles of impeachment against Paxton. The Texas Senate, however, voted to acquit Paxton.<\/p>\n Some Cornyn supporters have said<\/a> they won\u2019t vote for Paxton in November or are still weighing what to do when it comes time to vote.<\/p>\n \u201cThere should be a five-alarm warning about anybody thinking about voting for a Democrat,\u201d Abbott said.<\/p>\n At one point, someone in the crowd yelled out Cornyn\u2019s name during Patrick\u2019s speech, to which Patrick replied: \u201cWell, he isn\u2019t helping right now, by the way, and neither is our former ag. commissioner.\u201d Without naming him, Patrick said Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is a \u201cnice guy, but he\u2019s campaigning with a Democrat.\u201d<\/p>\n A campaign spokesperson for Cornyn declined to comment.<\/p>\n Miller has made headlines for participating in a June 11 event hosted by Matagorda County Against Data Centers<\/a> that Clayon Tucker, the Democratic nominee for the agriculture role, was also part of. Miller said he attended the town hall, because he, like many other conservatives, is concerned about the \u201cgrowing threat\u201d of data centers to agriculture, land, the electric grid and water.<\/p>\n \u201cSadly, my friend Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick is peddling fake news,\u201d Miller said. \u201cI have never endorsed or campaigned for a Democrat, and I never will. Last night, a bipartisan group of Texans came together to discuss one of the most pressing challenges facing our state, and I was proud to participate. I hope Lieutenant Governor Patrick will correct the record because his statements are simply false.\u201d<\/p>\n In a Saturday morning X post<\/a>, Patrick said he\u2019d talked with Miller, who clarified that he\u2019s a lifelong Republican and would never support a Democrat. Patrick said, \u201cthat\u2019s good enough for me.\u201d<\/p>\n House Speaker Dustin Burrows\u2019 was met with some boos<\/a> when it came time for his remarks, according to The New York Times. He and other speakers blasted Democrats, particularly Talarico, as they warned about the stakes of losing in November.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew I might receive a mixed reception, but the stakes are too high to stay silent,\u201d Burrows said in a post on X shared after his speech. \u201cA bruising primary season is behind us. Now, our focus must be on November.\u201d<\/p>\n Candidates for attorney general, comptroller, agriculture commissioner and railroad commissioner were among those who addressed conference attendees on Friday.<\/p>\n Fresh off victories in May\u2019s primary runoffs, former Tarrant County GOP Chair Bo French and Texas Sen. Mayes Middleton, a Galveston Republican, labeled their November Democratic opponents as \u201cradical\u201d and linked them to Talarico.<\/p>\n \u201cThe truth is, we\u2019re facing the most radically left ticket ever nominated by the Democrat party,\u201d French said.<\/p>\n French took the stage directly after Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian, the Republican incumbent whom French defeated in a May 26 runoff.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just came through a pretty contentious primary season,\u201d said Nate Sheets, the Republican nominee for agriculture commissioner who Miller in March\u2019s primary election.<\/p>\n Sheets, the founder of Nature Nate\u2019s Honey, arrived for his speech wearing beekeeping gear.<\/p>\n There are hurt feelings on all sides, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand this personally, but now is the time to lock arms,\u201d Sheets said. \u201cTexas can\u2019t afford a James Talarico, crazy, radical agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n Texas Comptroller candidate Don Huffines, a former Republican state senator who ran against Abbott for governor in 2022<\/a>, said he and the governor are united. Huffines offered his endorsement of the \u201centire Republican ticket.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe must work together,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to crush the atheists and the leftists in the fall.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 6:00 PM.<\/p>\n Eleanor Dearman<\/a><\/p>\n Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n Eleanor (Elly) Dearman is a Texas politics and government reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She\u2019s based in Austin, covering the Legislature and its impact on North Texas. She grew up in Denton and has been a reporter for more than six years.
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