Paxton projected to win Texas Senate GOP runoff, defeating incumbent Cornyn

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will win the Senate primary runoff for the GOP nomination, CBS News projects, unseating longtime incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in a seismic shift for Republicans in the Senate. Paxton will face the Democratic nominee, state Rep. James Talarico, in November. A Democrat has not won a statewide race in Texas since 1994, and has not won a U.S. Senate race in the state since 1988. Cornyn said at his election night event on Tuesday that he would support the Republican ticket in the general election. "I've said throughout this race that I trust the voters of Texas, and they made their decision, and I must respect it," Cornyn said. Cornyn, a four-term incumbent who once served in Senate GOP leadership, had received the most votes in a three-way primary race with Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt in March, but the contest advanced to a Paxton-Cornyn runoff after no candidate won a majority. Paxton received President Trump's endorsement last week, and Hunt also backed Paxton. The president said Paxton "has always been extremely loyal to me," and called Cornyn a "good man" who "was not supportive of me when times were tough." The race is the most expensive primary in history. The Senate GOP campaign arm had invested millions in the race to defeat Paxton, and Senate Republicans had believed it would be easier to defend the seat against Talarico with Cornyn at the top of the ticket. …