Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has received a significant boost in his campaign to unseat Senator John Cornyn ahead of a Republican primary runoff on May 26, following the endorsement of Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah.
Owens, 74, a former NFL and college football star who announced earlier this year he would not seek reelection for a fourth term, has deep family roots in Texas. His father was born there, and in a statement, Owens described his great-grandfather as having escaped slavery via the Underground Railroad and settled in Smithville, Texas.
“He was later able to purchase 102 acres of farmland and build his American dream,” Owens stated. “Texas has long been a safe haven for those seeking freedom.”
“Ken Paxton has embodied that legacy as attorney general. Now, we need him in the Senate,” Owens added. “The radical-left has had their sights set on Texas for too long, and we need bold leadership to ensure that doesn’t happen. I’m proud to join many of my colleagues in endorsing Ken Paxton for United States Senate.”
The Conservative Political Action Conference and Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, have also endorsed Paxton recently. Meanwhile, Cornyn has been endorsed by Texas Republican Representatives Randy Weber, Nathaniel Moran, and Roger Williams.
However, the biggest name in this race remains uncommitted: President Donald Trump, whose endorsement could tip the scales in either candidate’s favor.
Cornyn narrowly edged Paxton 42% to 40.5% in a March 3 primary vote, forcing a runoff as no candidate secured a majority of votes. Shortly after the tally, Trump wrote on Truth Social he would endorse “soon” and urged the candidate he did not support to “immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE!”
More than a month later, Trump has yet to commit and has downplayed the Democratic challenger, state representative James Talarico. In a March 22 post on Truth Social, Trump labeled him “maybe the worst candidate I have ever seen.”
John Wittman, an unaffiliated Republican consultant and former adviser to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, noted that Trump’s lack of endorsement has impacted the race. “This is still a very close race,” Wittman stated. “Paxton is probably the favorite right now, but this is absolutely a winnable race for John Cornyn.”
Recent polls indicate Paxton is gaining momentum heading into the runoff. A Quantus Insights poll released on March 24 showed Paxton leading Cornyn by 48.8% to 41.3%, with 9.3% undecided and a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.
A separate polling memo from the Senate Majority PAC and Democratic pollster GQR showed a tighter race, with Paxton at 47% to Cornyn’s 42%, leaving 12% undecided. It remains unclear whether the memo was internal or publicly released.
