Today, Texas Republicans will decide whether Sen. John "All Hat, No Cattle" Cornyn or convicted fraudster (and more) MAGAt Texas Attorney General (!) Ken Paxton will face surging Democrat James Talarico in November:
Voters in the Lone Star State will make their second attempt to nominate a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in a primary runoff election on Tuesday, the electoral version of the Texas two-step. [snip]
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn was the top vote-getter in the March 3 primary, but strong showings by two GOP challengers forced the four-term incumbent to Tuesday's head-to-head matchup with state Attorney General Ken Paxton, the second-place finisher who received President Donald Trump's endorsement on May 19.
The contest is Trump's next opportunity to purge the party of incumbents he views as insufficiently loyal to him and his agenda. It also sets the stage for a general election where Democrats are increasingly optimistic about their chances to score an upset in the heavily Republican state as they look to retake control of the U.S. Senate. Historically, voters have tended to punish the incumbent president's party at the ballot box in midterm election years...
The important thing in Texas Republican cult politics is the MF's endorsement, which both Cornyn and Paxton were chasing. Now that Paxton has it, recent polls show him beating Cornyn by anywhere from 12 to 21 points. The folks at electoral-vote.com expand on the significance of a Paxton vs. Talarico general election matchup:
... It could determine control of the Senate next year. We think it is likely (and polling supports that) Democrats will flip Maine (Susan Collins is very concerned) and North Carolina (Michael Whatley doesn't understand why he was told to run). If Republicans nominate Paxton tomorrow, the Democrats have their best shot in 40 years to elect a senator from Texas. If the Democratic candidate, James Talarico, wins in the general, then the Democrats need only hold their own seats and win one of the competitive races in Alaska, Iowa, Ohio, Montana, and Nebraska. The latter two feature independents, but they are almost certainly going to caucus with the Democrats if they win... (our emphasis)
As an added bonus, the Malignant Fascist's endorsement of fellow career criminal Paxton has also enraged already-enraged Senate Republicans, coming on the heels of the MF's tanking the re-election bid of Sen. Bill Cassidy in Louisiana on May 16. Some may begin to find their spines as a result (but don't count on it).
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