DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas (AP) 鈥� Texas Attorney General is riding high as he heads into the final days of his Republican primary runoff against Sen. , now with the weight of behind him.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if y’all noticed this, but Donald Trump endorsed me,鈥� Paxton told a small rally in a town outside Austin, inciting whoops and applause from the crowd.
Tuesday’s election has drawn national attention and gobs of money. It’s also become the latest contest in which Trump is encouraging voters to boot a politician who have displeased him 鈥� in this case, Cornyn 鈥� in favor of a challenger more aligned with the president. That effort has been largely successful for Trump. Earlier this week, Republican Rep. his Kentucky primary against Ed Gallrein, whom Trump had handpicked and backed. He also has defeated incumbents in Louisiana and Indiana.
Paxton has been turning his focus to the Democratic nominee, state Rep. James Talarico. Paxton opened his event Thursday with attacks on Talarico, a sign of his confidence heading into Tuesday.
Paxton then gave a biography of his political life, and tried hammering home the reason he says he should be the Republican nominee: He’s unleashed a barrage of lawsuits defending conservative values for years. It’s the type of resume that endears Paxton to the Make America Great Again faithful, some of his supporters said.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a fighter, he鈥檚 a person of action, he鈥檚 proven that as attorney general,鈥� said Jeffrey Sonnier, 72, who attended the rally and echoed what many supporters there voiced.
As for Cornyn, said Sonnier, 鈥渉e鈥檚 inactive for five years and digs out to become a supposed active Republican MAGA person every six years.鈥�
Who is closer to Trump?
Paxton鈥檚 campaign said Thursday that it’s pulling negative ads against Cornyn. Instead, starting after Trump’s Tuesday endorsement, the campaign and a super PAC that supports his candidacy began airing separate ads touting Trump’s favor.
Cornyn鈥檚 campaign and groups supporting him, however, were outspending the pro-Paxton groups three-to-one, and had reprised an ad they began airing last year noting Cornyn鈥檚 support for Trump鈥檚 agenda and featuring video clips of Trump praising Cornyn.
鈥淗e’s called me a friend, and that’s no surprise because I’ve supported him and his policies, you may have seen a commercial or two to that effect, 99.3% of the time,鈥� said Cornyn in a video posted to X from a recent event.
Cornyn has also long worked to shift the race to focus not on fidelity to the president but on character.
The campaign has leaned heavily into messaging about Paxton’s past, which includes an alleged affair and an in which Paxton was acquitted.
If Paxton is the nominee, that will be litigated in a general election against Talarico, where voters will be less 鈥渨illing to overlook all the corruption, the self-dealing and the scandals,鈥� Cornyn argued at a recent campaign event. 鈥淜en Paxton would hand it to (Democrats) on a silver platter.鈥�
Paxton supporters at his Thursday rally shrugged off the accusations.
鈥淗e鈥檚 had his flaws, but so have we; we all make mistakes,鈥� said Daniel Vega, 18, adding, 鈥淗e鈥檚 repented, let鈥檚 move on.鈥�
A contest where spending reached beyond $100 million
Through this week, Cornyn鈥檚 campaign and groups supporting it will have spent roughly $90 million in advertising, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact, including more than $20 million since the March 3 primary election.
Paxton鈥檚 campaign and the single super PAC have combined to spend roughly $10.5 million on advertising, with roughly $6.1 million since the March 3 primary.
The ads have flooded voters.
鈥淭he commercials are leading me against Paxton, that he might be a little crooked,鈥� said Gail Licea, 74, a retired registered nurse, who attended a Cornyn event before Trump鈥檚 endorsement. Then again, she said, 鈥淚鈥檝e been led to believe that sometimes John Cornyn doesn鈥檛 back President Donald Trump, and that concerns me.鈥�
The advertising has been so concentrated, it was unclear how much the late pivot by the groups would affect Tuesday鈥檚 outcome, said Wayne Hamilton, former executive director of the Texas Republican Party.
鈥淭here is so much noise out there right now,鈥� said Hamilton, who is an adviser to Gov. Greg Abbott and is unaffiliated with either of the Senate candidates. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how any one message is going to break through.鈥�
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