Overview
- Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton advanced to a May 26 Republican runoff after neither surpassed 50 percent in last week’s primary.
- President Trump said he will endorse a candidate "soon" and pressed the other to drop out, while Paxton indicated he would remain in the race unless congressional leaders meet his conditions on the filibuster and the SAVE America Act.
- A Public Policy Polling survey for Senate Majority PAC found Democrat James Talarico narrowly ahead of Cornyn, 44–43, and Paxton, 47–45, with both leads within the poll’s margin of error.
- AdImpact estimates roughly $131 million in primary advertising so far, including nearly $100 million on the GOP side, with more than $71 million supporting Cornyn.
- Many Republicans caution that Paxton could jeopardize the seat and require major national spending, as conservative outlets circulate resurfaced clips of Talarico discussing transgender youth and religion and his campaign pushes back.