Texas GOP identity at core of Cornyn, Paxton, Hunt's 3-way Senate race
USA TODAY
Republican infighting could put the reliably red state in jeopardy this fall as President Trump stands on the sidelines
EL PASO, TEXAS − It's the old guard versus the insurgent right in Texas, where Senate Republicans are doing all they can to save incumbent John Cornyn's career and keep a reliably red state off the 2026 midterm election map.
Cornyn, 74, is considered an institution in Lone Star State politics, but he is being pummeled by two aggressive, populist-minded challengers in Rep. Wesley Hunt and scandal-plagued Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has captured the Make America Great Again spirit.
For conservative voters, one issue seems to rise above the rest: ensuring Democrats don’t take control of the U.S. Senate.
"If you look at who’s running on the Democratic side, they’re definitely far-out liberals. I mean, extreme," Rick Bonart, a retired veterinarian from El Paso, told the USA TODAY Network.
Ed Solomon, 78, who runs a small firearm dealership out his El Paso home, agreed. He warned that if Democrats prevail this fall, then the United States could "be lost forever" and turn into a "third world country, because there would be no balance" politically.
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The overnight strikes did not impact the islands oil infrastructure, U.S. and Iranian officials said.