Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton demolished four-term Senator John Cornyn in Tuesday night's GOP Senate primary runoff, and it wasn't even remotely close. Trump endorsed. Trump delivered. And somewhere in Washington, D.C., a very expensive campaign consultant is trying to explain how $90 million in advertising lost to a guy who spent roughly $10.5 million.
Somebody get Cornyn a participation trophy and a LinkedIn premium subscription.
Let's talk about that spending gap, because it's the most beautiful part of this whole thing. Cornyn and his allies dumped over $21 million in advertising just since the March 3 primary alone. Paxton and his allied super PAC? About $7 million in the same window. Cornyn outspent Paxton roughly three-to-one and still got his teeth kicked in. Turns out you can't buy what Paxton had — a Trump endorsement and actual credibility with the base.
Paxton knew exactly who to thank. "When everyone in Washington told him to abandon me and abandon people in Texas, he didn't," Paxton said in his victory speech. "Instead, he gave his complete and total endorsement. President Trump is the leader of our party and his endorsement is the most powerful force in politics."
He wasn't done. "Tonight, we just sent a Texas-sized message to Washington... change won."
Change won. Establishment lost. We've seen this movie before, and the ending never changes — the GOP old guard keeps thinking money and institutional backing can overcome a fired-up base, and they keep waking up with concession speeches to write.
Cornyn, to his credit, was gracious in defeat: "Tonight we've come up short." He then added, "I've spent most of my time in the Senate building the Republican Party in Texas and in the U.S. Senate. And I've always supported the Republican ticket. And I intend to do so again in this general election." Good man. Welcome to retirement.
This wasn't some fluke, either. Cornyn has held his Senate seat since 2003. He chaired the National Republican Senatorial Committee. He had Senate Majority Leader John Thune in his corner. He had NRSC Chair Tim Scott stumping for him. He had the entire Washington establishment machine behind him. And none of it mattered, because the voters of Texas — a state Trump won by nearly 14 points — decided they wanted a fighter, not a furniture piece.
Paxton is the first person to knock off a sitting Republican senator from Texas in a party primary. Let that sink in. The establishment's favorite son, the guy with all the connections and all the money, just became a historical footnote.
The left tried to make Paxton's 2023 impeachment trial a disqualifier. He was impeached on bribery and corruption charges and acquitted by the Texas State Senate. When asked about it, Paxton didn't flinch: "This is the same argument they made against Donald Trump. What people should really care about is back to my message: What have you done for the people of Texas when you have served them?"
Senator Ted Cruz endorsed Paxton. Every Trump-backed congressional candidate in the runoff won by double-digit margins. The pattern is crystal clear, and if the GOP establishment hasn't figured it out by now, they never will.
Paxton now heads to the general election against Democrat James Talarico, a state representative who's raised $40 million and has about $10 million left in the bank. But this is Texas. Talarico already called Paxton "the most corrupt politician in America." Bold strategy for a guy running in a state that just chose Paxton by a landslide.
The Blaze had the headline right: "DEMOLISHES." Not "edges out." Not "narrowly defeats." Demolishes. Cornyn's era is over. Paxton's is just beginning. And Washington just got put on notice — again.
