Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton declared that Donald Trump's endorsement is "the most powerful force in politics" after comfortably winning the Republican nomination for the Senate in a runoff election on Tuesday night. Paxton defeated four-term Senator John Cornyn, marking the latest instance where President Trump successfully ousted an incumbent he viewed as insufficiently loyal.
Trump had endorsed Paxton, calling him a "true MAGA warrior." Paxton's victory made Cornyn, first elected to the Senate in 2002, the first Republican senator from Texas to lose the party's nomination for reelection. "When everyone in Washington told him to abandon me and abandon the people of Texas, he didn't listen," Paxton said. "President Trump is the leader of our party, and his endorsement is the most powerful force in politics."
Cornyn's loss follows recent primaries in Louisiana, Kentucky, and Indiana, where Trump-backed challengers defeated Republican lawmakers who had displeased him, underscoring his enduring influence among primary voters. "After a public service career lasting more than four decades and 18 consecutive campaign wins, tonight we've come up short in this primary runoff," Cornyn said after the race was called. "I've always supported the GOP ticket. I intend to do so again this general election."
The race has broad implications for Trump's strength heading into November's midterm elections. Paxton will now face James Talarico, a Democratic pastor and state legislator whose message of peace and populism has garnered significant attention. If successful, Talarico would become the first Democrat in over 30 years to win statewide office in Texas.
In other developments, Christian Menefee defeated Al Green to represent Texas's newly redrawn 18th congressional district. Green, 78, had served 11 terms as a Democrat and was one of Donald Trump's top critics, having been the first member of Congress to call for his impeachment in 2017. Menefee, 38, began serving in Congress earlier this year after winning a special election. The two Democrats faced off after Republican redistricting merged their home districts near Houston.
Two Republican-led redistricting efforts in Alabama and South Carolina hit setbacks. In Alabama, a federal court ruled that the proposed map could not be used because it was drawn to intentionally discriminate against Black voters. The South Carolina Senate voted against redrawing the state's congressional map due to political and administrative reasons.
Construction is underway on the White House lawn for a UFC arena that will host a cage match next month to mark the United States' 250th anniversary and Trump's 80th birthday. The mixed martial arts fight is planned for June 14. Trump also completed his annual physical after a year of public attention to his health. The president, the oldest inaugurated in US history, underwent a physical exam on Tuesday at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. "Everything checked out PERFECTLY," Trump declared on social media.
The Trump administration considered asking federal workers to sign nondisclosure agreements to prevent them from sharing confidential information with journalists.
