Good morning. Today we’re breaking down the results from a big political night in Texas. Plus, a question for our Texas readers.
Did Trump just put Texas in play?
Texas has long been in the business of dashing Democratic dreams, and this year may be no exception. But last night, some Democrats couldn’t resist a flash of optimism anyway, as Republicans — led by President Trump — ousted Senator John Cornyn in his primary runoff election, instead elevating Ken Paxton, the state attorney general, as their Senate nominee. Paxton, a hard-right official who has been impeached and indicted, and whose wife said she filed for divorce on “biblical grounds,” now heads into a general election against James Talarico, a Democratic state representative and seminarian who has been a powerhouse fund-raiser. The runoff result was the latest example — in a month full of examples — of Trump’s total control over the Republican base, whatever the consequences in a general election. In the initial round of primary voting, Cornyn was narrowly the top vote-getter. Then Trump effectively ended the primary race last week by endorsing Paxton, who trounced Cornyn last night. With more than 95 percent of the vote in, Paxton was leading by about 28 percentage points.
Democrats hope — and some Republicans worry — that at minimum, Paxton’s nomination will force Republicans to play defense in an expensive state that wouldn’t ordinarily be competitive. Republican officials have warned that they might have to spend $100 million to lift Paxton, my colleagues Shane Goldmacher and Patricia Mazzei reported. “How does that help strengthen the president’s hand when we lose a state like Texas?” Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, said last week. To be clear, Paxton starts this race as the front-runner. After all, Texas last elected a Democrat statewide more than three decades ago, and Talarico has a long, left-leaning social media history that Republicans are eagerly working to weaponize. Democrats have not prioritized Texas as a top-tier pickup opportunity, and the idea that it could be in play might look like a liberal pipe dream by the fall. But one thing is certain: The results last night mean the Senate race just got a whole lot more interesting. A question for our Texas readers: If you supported Cornyn in the primary, what will you do now that the matchup is Paxton versus Talarico? I’m at katie.glueck@nytimes.com and would love to hear your thoughts. A few other things to know about last night:
You can catch up on our takeaways from a big night in Texas below. Thanks for reading and see you Friday.
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