For a Republican Party already facing difficult midterm elections, the outcome of the two U.S. Senate primaries in Texas could not have been worse.
Republicans needed incumbent Senator John Cornyn to defeat Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Representative Wesley Hunt with a majority of votes to avoid a runoff. The Texas primaries have already set the record as the most expensive primaries in American history. Spending has surpassed $110 million, with $90 million of that spent on the Republican race.
Check out my thoughts on the Texas primaries:
The last thing Republicans wanted to see was this bitterly contentious battle between Cornyn and Paxton dragging on for another three months, but that’s what they’re going to get. Republicans are expected to spend another $100 million on the runoff election.
There is a notion in the mainstream media that the Democrats can only win in Texas if Paxton is the nominee, but even in a hypothetical matchup poll, Cornyn leads Talarico slightly. It will be a close election, regardless of who the nominee is.
The other part of the Republican nightmare scenario was James Talarico’s victory in Texas.
