A months-long brawl for Texas’ GOP Senate nomination will finally come to a close with today’s primary runoff between Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
President Donald Trump’s last-minute endorsement of Paxton has solidified the attorney general as the heavy favorite on Tuesday. Paxton already had structural advantages from a likely low-turnout runoff.
Whoever wins will have to quickly pivot to the general election. Remember that the NRSC and the Senate Leadership Fund spent months and tens of millions of dollars attacking Paxton. Now he’s on the verge of officially becoming their nominee.
Beyond the super high-profile Senate race, there are other primaries to watch tonight in the Lone Star State.
The incumbents in trouble. There’s a member-on-member clash in Texas’ 18th District Democratic primary runoff between longtime Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) and freshman Rep. Christian Menefee (D-Texas).
The two Democrats are running in the same Houston-area seat after Republicans redrew Texas’ House lines. Menefee is making the case for generational change, while Green says his seniority is vital for the district. In March, Menefee outran Green 46% to 44%.
In Texas’ 33rd District, former Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) is trying to make a comeback and knock off Rep. Julie Johnson (D-Texas). Allred outpaced Johnson in the March primary by 11 points.
The other House runoffs. In the new 35th District, both parties have primary runoffs.
For Democrats, the matchup is Maureen Galindo vs. Johnny Garcia. On the GOP side, state Rep. John Lujan faces veteran Carlos De La Cruz, the brother of Texas GOP Rep. Monica De La Cruz. Trump has endorsed De La Cruz.
In the new 9th District, state Rep. Briscoe Cain faces Army veteran Alex Mealer. Trump has backed Mealer, while Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is backing Cain. This deep-red seat is based in the greater Houston area.
In the open 19th District, former USDA official Tom Sell faces activist Abraham Enriquez in the GOP primary runoff to replace retiring Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas).
