'The vitriol is going to be real': Republicans brace for fallout from brutal Texas Senate runoff

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The John Cornyn vs. Ken Paxton showdown ends Tuesday night, but the brutal primary has some Republicans worried the party will emerge in tatters.

Armed with President Donald Trump’s endorsement, Paxton has emerged as the clear front-runner in the final days of a Texas Senate runoff where the MAGA-aligned, scandal-plagued firebrand state attorney general has weathered millions of dollars in attack ads. But Cornyn, the establishment favorite and a giant of the Senate seeking a fifth term in office, is putting up a hard fight until the end, bolstered by a massive war chest and solidarity from senior leadership in Congress.

“In Spanish, they call it lucha de gigantes — a fight between two giants,” said Daniel Garza, president of the LIBRE Institute, a conservative Texas-based group that has stayed out of the primary. “Post-runoff, you’re going to have to mend a lot of fences.”

The race has become increasingly vicious in the final stretch, with Cornyn accusing the attorney general of being ethically unfit for office and Paxton arguing that the incumbent, 74, is too old to continue serving in the Senate. Their relentless mudslinging has only deepened existing divisions between the GOP’s hardliners and traditional moderates. Several Republicans in both Texas and Washington warn that Trump’s decision to endorse Paxton over Cornyn has alienated lawmakers on Capitol Hill — and risks turning off major GOP donors who will be critical during an expensive general election.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/republicans-worry-cornyn-paxton-fight-085000038.html

[dalton99a]

1. "No matter what we do for you, you will still stab us in the back."

Piece of shit has been doing it all his life

[blogslug]

2. I will not rec because I hate them both

But I would like to have some of that popcorn

[johnnyfins]

3. Fuck em all

I hope they eat each other alive. They deserve no less for what they have done to Texas and this whole country.

[no_hypocrisy]

4. Couple of Thoughts:

One: Paxton contends that Cornyn is "too old" to be a Senator at age 74. Well . . . . Cornyn is 6 years younger than Trump. Will Paxton be consistent and insist that Trump is too old to be President?

Two: If/When Cornyn loses the primary, he could always screw Trump, Texas, and the Republican majority in the Senate by running as an Independent. You know, the Joe Lieberman Playbook. He has nothing to lose and would likely prefer having the Last Word.

[Walleye]

7. Senator Lisa Murkowski ran as an independent and won

She had to run a write-in campaign. I don’t know why she even has anything to do with the Republican party after that. So it can be done.

[SWBTATTReg]

5. Yes, Ken P is a gutter mouth. I've watched him over last 10 years or so, and he's done nothing but turn me off even

more, every time I see his name.

He's a worthless political slug, in it for the power it gives him.

[eppur_se_muova]

6. Um, "traditional moderates" ?? How will we know what they want -- seances ? nt

[LetMyPeopleVote]

8. MaddowBlog-The long list of scandals that will dog Texas' Ken Paxton from now until Election Day

“To call Paxton ethically challenged is to call Jeffrey Dahmer suffering from an eating disorder,” one GOP senator said.

The long list of scandals that will dog Texas’ Ken Paxton from now until Election Day
“To call Paxton ethically challenged is to call Jeffrey Dahmer suffering from an eating disorder,” one GOP senator
Who put this list together? The National Republican Senatorial Committee
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— AFinRenoFightsBack 🌊2026 🌊 (@callyson.bsky.social) 2026-05-27T19:16:10.521Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/the-long-list-of-scandals-that-will-dog-texas-ken-paxton-from-now-until-election-day

Democratic state Rep. James Talarico, who’ll face the state attorney general in the fall, responded to the GOP primary by describing Paxton as “the most corrupt politician in America.”

Ken Paxton is the most corrupt politician in America. 

He embodies the broken system we’re running against.

It’s time to come together: The People vs. Ken Paxton

— James Talarico (@jamestalarico.bsky.social) 2026-05-27T01:38:20.360Z

Soon after, the Democrat’s campaign unveiled its first post-primary ad, highlighting just how many devastating scandals Paxton has been embroiled in during his tenure in statewide office.

Link to tweet

.....To help drive the point home, consider this list published last summer:

Angela Paxton’s divorce petition accuses Paxton of adultery and says the couple stopped living together in June 2024, according to new reports.

Paxton’s former chief of staff testified that he confessed to her and other staff members he was having an affair with his mistress, Laura Olson.

Impeachment articles in the Texas legislature alleged Ken Paxton used the alias “Dave P” for a fake Uber account that he used to secretly see his mistress.

Paxton was also accused of using secret emails and burner phones to try and cover his tracks.
Paxton allegedly used his pal Nate Paul, who was recently convicted of bank fraud, to help hide his affair and provide his mistress with employment in Austin so that Paxton could be closer to her.

Twenty articles of impeachment were filed against Paxton in the Texas legislature over alleged bribery, abuse of power and obstruction of justice.

Paxton was indicted on security fraud charges that were later dropped after he paid $300,000 in restitution and completed community service.

Paxton refused to disclose multiple out-of-state properties in his 2023 financial disclosure, including a $1.6 million luxury hide-away.

Who put this list together? The National Republican Senatorial Committee, which quietly removed the list from its website after Paxton defeated Cornyn. (The list above is reprinted verbatim from the NRSC’s since-deleted post.)

Kevin Kruse, a historian at Princeton University, described Paxton as “basically a walking Thomas Nast illustration of corruption,” which hardly seemed hyperbolic. We are, after all, talking about a man whose own senior staffers reported him to the FBI, alleging he illegally used his position to help a prominent donor.