Ken Paxton Ousts John Cornyn In Runoff Landslide After Securing Trump’s Endorsement

Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in a Senate runoff Tuesday, one week after receiving President Donald Trump’s backing.

Paxton won the race by a landslide 28-point margin, 63.8% to 36.2%, after receiving a late-minute May 19 endorsementfrom Trump, the Associated Press reported with more than 95% of the vote counted. The race advanced to a runoff after neither candidate received a majority of the votes during the primary.

After winning the GOP nomination Paxton will face Democratic nominee State Rep. James Talarico in the November general election. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the race “Lean R.”

Cornyn won a plurality of the vote in the March 3 primary edging out Paxton by roughly 1.5 percentage points. However, he failed to secure a majority needed to avoid a runoff with his challenger. Cornyn received endorsements from former Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry and outgoing Republican Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, the former chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee.

Republican Texas Rep. Wesley Hunt — who came in a distant third in the primary — and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon endorsed Paxton.