Right-wing commentator Erick Erickson sounded the alarm in his Substack on Monday that the Texas Republican Party is on the brink of committing electoral "suicide" in the Senate race.
"Ken Paxton, the sitting Attorney General, has decided to challenge Senator John Cornyn in the Texas Republican Primary. For those unfamiliar with Paxton, had Trump lost in 2024, Paxton would most likely be in Federal prison," wrote Erickson, who has grown increasingly critical of the MAGA movement.
"In addition to being a serial adulterer on his wife, Paxton has been impeached unsuccessfully by the Texas legislature and deeply investigated by the federal government, among other things," wrote Erickson. "Ironically, Paxton’s wife saved him from being convicted by the Texas Senate, wherein she held elected office. Though she could not vote in the matter, she stood by her man. After the impeachment trial, we all found out about Paxton’s extramarital activities and his marriage blew up."
This all happened, he noted, because "Eight of Paxton’s closest aides reported Paxton to the FBI for bribery and abuse of office" — and he only escaped prison because President Donald Trump didn't want to prosecute an ally who helped him try to overturn the 2020 election.
"In truth, Paxton might win, particularly if the Democrats nominate Jasmine Crockett. But the amount of resources Republicans will have to spend on getting Paxton across the finish line will divert critical money from Georgia to beat Ossoff, Maine to help Susan Collins, Michigan to help Mike Rogers, and North Carolina to stop Roy Cooper, among others," wrote Erickson. And it's not out of the question Paxton could lose outright — after all, Texas Democrats just flipped a state Senate seat in a blowout that Trump won by 17 points.
"Some of these Texas supporters of Paxton have reasoned they’d rather the Democrats take the Senate than keep John Cornyn. They will not be reasoned with. They wrap themselves in the language of Christianity and promote a serial adulterer of ill repute and then convince themselves the country is going to hell in a hand basket," Erickson concluded. "They’ll certainly do their best to get us all in that hand basket if they get Paxton across the finish line."
