Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated four-term Senator John Cornyn in the Republican Senate runoff Tuesday, with roughly 64 percent of the vote, making Cornyn the first Texas Republican senator to lose renomination. Paxton, the 
Donald Trump-endorsed challenger, called the president's last-minute endorsement "the most powerful force in politics" in his victory remarks, the Guardian reported.
What does the result mean for Trump's grip? Trump's endorsement carried a four-term incumbent off the ballot — a marquee scalp on what The Hill called the president's "revenge tour" against GOP figures who crossed him. Paxton will face Democratic state lawmaker James Talarico in November, Al Jazeera reported in its takeaways. The Texas result follows Rep. Thomas Massie's Kentucky primary loss earlier this month and tightens the cycle's pattern of Trump-endorsed challengers defeating sitting Republicans, per the Hill's takeaways piece.
Did Cornyn's allies push back? Sen. Thom Tillis had called Paxton "a failure" who would be "an anchor on the GOP Senate" in pre-vote remarks, comments the BBC carried in its post-vote coverage. Cornyn argued he was a Trump "ally" in the final hours, but Tuesday's 64-36 margin closed the question.
How did handicappers react? The nonpartisan Cook Political Report shifted its Texas Senate race rating from "likely Republican" to "lean Republican" within hours of the result, citing Paxton's scandal-plagued tenure as attorney general, The Hill reported. The downgrade gives Talarico a clearer path to be competitive even in a state Trump carried by double digits in 2024.
Figures referenced: Donald Trump. — JudgeMarket.
