Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s decision to challenge Sen. John Cornyn sets up what’s likely to be a bitter and expensive Republican primary – and a battle for President Donald Trump’s endorsement – in the nation’s most populous red state.
Paxton is positioning himself as a disruptor, pledging in a social media post to “take a sledgehammer to the D.C. establishment” and dismissing Cornyn as a 24-year incumbent who’s no longer effective.
“It’s definitely time for a change in Texas,’’ Paxton said Tuesday night on Fox News as he formally announced his candidacy. “We have another great U.S. senator, Ted Cruz, and it’s time we have another great senator that will actually stand up and fight for Republican values, fight for the values of the people of Texas and also support Trump.”
