AUSTIN, Texas – Voters have made their choice in one of the most contentious runoff elections in Texas.
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Who won the Texas Republican Senate runoff?
Texas AG Ken Paxton won the Republican nomination over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn for November’s general election and will face off against Democrat James Talarico.
Paxton won with 62.6% of the vote, according to the Associated Press.
In the lead up to Tuesday’s election, polls stayed close with neither candidate seeming to have a definite edge.
The backstory:
Paxton and Cornyn spent much of the runoff cycle attacking each other on social media and in ads. Before the runoff, spending across both the Democratic and Republican primaries had made it the most expensive U.S. Senate primary race in history.
That spending continued during the lead up to the runoff, with ad spending breaking $16 million for Cornyn for the runoff and $3.7 million for Paxton, according to a May 13 post from AdImpact.
Read more ELECTION RESULTS: Texas AG GOP, Dem candidates facing off in November
What’s next:
With the runoff now behind him, Paxtoncan turn his attention to Talarico and fending off an energized Democratic base.
Both candidates were found to be trailing hypothetical head-to-heads against Democratic nominee James Talarico last month and voters were split then on who was the better challenger for the Austin Democrat.
November will still be a challenge for Democrats. No Democrat has won a statewide election in Texas since 1994.
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