Republicans will ‘rally’ around Paxton: Lauren Green
Lauren Green of the *Washington Examiner* says Republicans are likely to unify behind Texas Republican nominee Ken Paxton in the Senate general election, even though some GOP figures had campaigned against him in the runoff. She argues the party’s motivation is to prevent Democrat James Talarico from taking the seat and to protect the Republican majority.
Green notes that Paxton defeated incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the runoff, winning 63.8% of the vote, after which the National Republican Senatorial Committee backed Cornyn with attacks on Paxton’s past, including his divorce and his impeachment for bribery and abuse of office. She also cites a report that the NRSC later began deleting posts critical of Paxton.
She says Democrats will likely echo similar attacks while aiming to spend heavily in Texas, especially after Talarico reportedly raised more than $600,000 shortly after Paxton’s victory. Green adds that increased spending in Texas could divert Republican resources from other races in more competitive states like Georgia, North Carolina, and Maine.
Washington Examiner congressional reporter Lauren Green said Republicans will “rally” around Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race, despite those within the party campaigning against him in the runoff election with four-term Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX).
“These Republicans are going to rally behind Ken Paxton because they don’t want someone like James Talarico in the Senate. They want their Republican-led Senate or everything they can to protect that,” Green said on LiveNOW from Fox Wednesday.
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Paxton overwhelmingly defeated Cornyn in a runoff election for the Republican Senate nomination on Tuesday, earning 63.8% of the vote.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee supported Cornyn, releasing ads slamming Paxton and highlighting his controversial background to voters, specifically regarding his divorce on “biblical grounds” and his 2023 impeachment for bribery and abuse of office.
Since Paxton’s victory, the NRSC quietly began deleting posts criticizing the Texas attorney general, according to CNN.
Green said she believes Democrats will use these same attacks against Paxton, as Republicans begin to attack Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico.
“As we’ve already seen, Republicans have already started hammering home at James Talarico as well,” she said. “I think this general election is going to be just as gruesome as the primary was, but I do believe Democrats are prepared to pour a lot of money into it.”
In the two hours following Paxton’s primary win, Talarico received over $600,000 in donations to his campaign.
Green highlighted Talarico’s success at fundraising, adding that Democrats are now looking at Texas as a way to win back control of the Senate.
“Democrats are looking more at Texas, and especially with Ken Paxton winning the nomination, they’re going to be pouring a lot more into it, which means Republicans are going to have to pour a lot more into it,” she said.
WHAT HAS TALARICO DONE WITH HIS TWO MONTHS AS THE ONLY OFFICIAL TEXAS SENATE NOMINEE?
Green said pouring more money into the Texas Senate race will take resources away from other contentious races.
“[Republicans] have places like Maine to protect, they want to flip a seat in Georgia, they have to protect a seat in North Carolina. So spending money in a state that should be pretty solid red is going to pull away from those swing states they’re already looking at pouring a lot of money into,” she said.
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