A crowded barbeque rally in Katy, Texas, features supporters dancing to MAGA music while backing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for U.S. Senate. Ricardo Vidaurre praises Paxton as having “guts,” and the event feels like an early victory party. The GOP primary has become extremely expensive and has put John Cornyn’s reelection campaign in serious trouble. Cornyn is criticized for working with Democrats on bipartisan gun legislation after the Uvalde school shooting and for not pushing to end the Senate filibuster to advance the Trump-backed SAVE Act. Republicans argue over who best represents the party’s future after Trump, with Cornyn emphasizing alignment with Trump and Paxton emphasizing his record of lawsuits against Democrats and their policies.
"“He's not your typical politician,” Vidaurre says of Paxton, in Spanish. “He has guts.” A day earlier, the MAGA loyalist was endorsed by President Trump as the state's GOP nominee for U.S. Senate, in what has become the most expensive primary in history. The reelection campaign for four-term Sen. John Cornyn, a fixture of the party's establishment wing, is now on life support."
"Paxton's supporters say Cornyn betrayed the party by working with Democrats on bipartisan gun legislation after the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. They also argue he should have helped nuke the Senate filibuster to clear the way for the Trump-backed SAVE Act to install new voting restrictions. Republicans have spent more than $100 million in the bitter fight that has become a proxy battle for the future of the party."
"Throughout the GOP primary and the subsequent runoff race, Cornyn and Paxton have each argued they have the bona fides to lead the GOP into a post-Trump era. In his message to voters, Cornyn says he voted with Trump more than 99% of the time. Paxton, for his part, says his work leading Texas in lawsuits against Democrats and their policies in Washington eclipses Cornyn's long tenure in office."
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