‘Culture wars vs real wars’: Experts say Trump just made Texas Senate race a battle the GOP didn’t need to fight
President Donald Trump celebrated Wednesday after his chosen candidate in the Texas Republican primary runoff for Senate, Attorney General Ken Paxton, defeated four-term incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas).
“Congratulations to Ken Paxton on such a tremendous win, and to John Cornyn for having run a strong and powerful race but, more importantly, having had a truly great career,” he posted on Truth Social. The president also rehashed an old insult he once used for former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, calling Paxton’s Democratic opponent James Talarico, “Alfred E. Neuman,” the fictitious mascot for Mad Magazine.
“A strong Open Borders advocate, he is WEAK ON CRIME, believes there are 6 genders, is insulting to Jesus Christ, will never support the Military, was a big Mask Wearer until recently, and is a Vegan who dislikes meat, not exactly a good way to be if you’re wanting to win an Election in Texas,” Trump wrote.
Immediately, Democrats have begun to make hay out of Paxton’s numerous scandals: being impeached by Republicans in the state House of Representatives, and his alleged infidelity, which led his estranged wife, Angela, not to endorse him ahead of the primary. Talarico called Paxton”the most corrupt politician in America.”
But Trump’s interference to knock off a four-term incumbent Republican who outperformed the president in 2020 when the two shared a ballot has some Republicans worried that Trump’s quest for vengeance will hurt Republicans’ chances of holding onto the Senate.
Because of the contentious primary, Cornyn and Paxton spent more time attacking each other than attacking Talarico, a state legislator and Presybyterian seminarian. But Republicans have hit him for his past comments saying that people should consume less meat, his statement that there are at least six sexes and for procaliming, “God is nonbinary.”
“It was always going to be an expensive race,” one Republican strategist based in Texas told The Independent.
“Nobody’s laid a glove on Talarico in any meaningful way. Right-wing cable and online noise only move the needle so far. By November he’ll be defined as an emasculated vegan dweeb. It won’t be pretty.”
Republicans plan to use the same strategy that they effectively deployed during the 2024 presidential campaign, when Trump famously put out an ad focusing on how as attorney general, Kamala Harris provided gender-affirming care for people in prison, with the famous tagline “Kamala is for They/Them. President Trump is for you.”
But Chuck Rocha, a consultant working for Talarico, said the attacks might fall flat amid the Iran war, rising gas prices and inflation.
“Either way we know the Republicans are gonna run campaign on culture wars, while we focus on real wars and gas prices,” Rocha told The Independent over text message. “They are gonna talk about who eats meat, while we talk about the PRICE of meat!”
Paul Steinhauser, a Republican consultant who served as Cornyn’s campaign manager in 2014, told The Independent that the national environment will play a large role.
“So, gas prices are averaging $4.50 or $4.75 gallon, I think that’s bad news for Republicans,” he said. But he said if gas hovers at $4 or below, Republicans should be in good shape.
“I think ultimately it’s going to be Republicans versus Democrats, as it typically is, and the middle, the independent voters, the swing voters, are small in number,” he said. “But they can swing the election one way or the other. But independents in Texas tend to lean Republican, and I think that probably won’t shift much.”
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