by David Shephard, ©2026
(May 27, 2026) — Well, it has been two good Tuesdays in a row for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Last Tuesday President Trump endorsed him for the U.S. Senate and tonight Paxton defeated 4 term incumbent Senator John Cornyn to win the nomination. My guess is that Trump decided to endorse Paxton, not so much for ideological reasons, since Cornyn is a reliable MAGA vote in the Senate, but more for practical politics. Trump saw all the polls showing Paxton winning the nomination, so Trump decided to tag along.
I do think Cornyn would have been the Republican Party’s strongest nominee. Two main reasons. First, Cornyn is the incumbent, and history shows that incumbents are tougher to beat. When was the last time that an incumbent Senator from Texas lost? Sometime last century. And secondly, Cornyn doesn’t have all the baggage that Paxton has. For example, Paxton was impeached by the Texas House of Representatives back in 2023 but acquitted in the state senate. And currently Paxton is going through a messy divorce, and there are rumors of his giving special treatment to a mistress. This won’t play well with swing voters.
Texas, while still Red, is not a lock for Republicans. In fact, it has been trending Democrat, and this trend was only interrupted during the Biden years. The border was opened during the Biden years, and this no doubt hurt Texas Democrats. But now the border is closed, and the issue is not on the forefront of voters’ minds. In addition, the national mood is trending against Republicans, so Democrats may very well return to making gains in the Lone Star state. Perhaps as early as this November.
Ken Paxton has baggage which can hurt him, but there is some good news. The Democrats have a weak nominee. Trump calls him a weird nominee. James Talarico is an aspiring vegan who believes that there are 6 genders and that God is nonbinary. I guess he forgot the main prayer, “Our Father who art in Heaven…” Talarico also believes that Mary gave her consent before the conception of Jesus, and by that fact, Talarico reasons that she could have had an abortion. And there is more evidence that Talarico is a nut. There is a photograph of him still wearing a mask months after even Dr. Fauci said that the pandemic was over.
But Texas Republicans have decided to remove the incumbent Cornyn, so this November there will be an open seat to fill. Texas voters will pick either Paxton or Talarico, both of whom are weak and flawed candidates.
I hope and do believe that Paxton will win. Talarico is just too far left for Texas, but I wish Texas Republicans hadn’t nominated him. Anytime you nominate someone with so much baggage you risk losing. And if Republicans fail to keep the Senate, then Trump’s Presidency will basically end next year.
While I think Paxton is likely to win, Republicans will have to raise and spend a lot of money to get him over the finish line. Cornyn, on the other hand, would have been able to win on far less money.
Indeed, Paxton will need a lot of money to win, which will mean less national Republican money going into Michigan and North Carolina and Maine. Places that we also need to win.
Ok. I got that off my chest. Paxton is our nominee. Let’s support him. Vote Paxton for the U.S. Senate.
David Shephard is a native and very proud Virginian. Raised in Fairfax County, David graduated from George Mason University and majored in Government and Politics. He spent decades in politics, campaign consulting, raising money and lobbying. He is also a longtime conservative blogger writing for numerous blogs. He is also the host of “The Virginia Gentleman Podcast.”
David is the author of Elections Have Consequences, A Cautionary Tale, and his latest book, Norton’s Choice: An Inside Politics Exposé.