Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is headed to the general election after ousting longtime Republican Sen. John Cornyn in a bitter Senate primary runoff, setting up a high-stakes November fight against Democratic state Rep. James Talarico.
The primary was brutal, with Cornyn and his allies warning for months that Paxton’s personal and legal baggage could endanger a seat Republicans have held for decades. But the GOP establishment moved quickly to quash the feud. Cornyn conceded and pledged to support the Republican ticket, while top Texas Republicans, including Gov. Greg Abbott and Sen. Ted Cruz, rallied behind Paxton after his win. Paxton also struck a gracious note toward Cornyn, thanking him for his service after a bloody intraparty battle.
Democrats are betting Paxton’s baggage gives Talarico an opening. Republicans are betting Texas voters will take a closer look at the supposedly moderate Democrat’s history of Biblical revisionism and progressive opinions.
Daily Caller reporting has already documented Talarico’s record of bizarre theological and cultural positions. The Presbyterian seminary student has claimed “God is nonbinary” and argued that the Bible takes a “pro-choice” view on abortion. He has also tied Christianity to climate alarmism, saying the faith requires fighting greenhouse gases, and resurfaced posts show him bragging about pushing “#liberalpropaganda” as a public school teacher.
Then there is the meat problem. Talarico has promoted non-meat activism in Texas — a state where barbecue is practically a civic religion — while Democrats try to sell him as a heartland moderate.
Talarico is already trying to walk back to the center, dismissing his past statements as “intentionally provocative” and blaming Paxton’s team for circulating his “cringey” moments.
Paxton has liabilities, but Talarico’s own record gives Republicans a ready-made argument: he is not the moderate Democrats need Texans to believe he is.
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