The runoff is expected to take place on May 26 later this year.
Incumbent Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) will face Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a run-off election after the 50 percent voting threshold was not crossed by any of the three GOP candidates in the GOP election for US Senate in Texas.
Leading up to Tuesday’s election, the race for the Republican candidacy for US Senate was expected to be tight with a crowded field. When the runoff election was called by Decision Desk, Rep. Wesley Hunt had 13 percent of the vote, Cornyn had 43 percent, and Paxton had 40 percent.
Some polls had Paxton as the favorite going into the primary election, but that will be tested in the runoff election, which is expected to take place on May 26 later this year. Early voting for the runoff is set for May 18 through May 22. If the result of the runoff is narrow, candidates may also request a recount.
President Donald Trump has refused to endorse anyone in the Senate race, and has previously said he supports “all three” in the mix for US Senate.
Leading up to the primary, Cornyn said, “If I’m the nominee, I’ll help President Trump by making sure that we carry the five new congressional seats as well as maintain this Senate seat and will help him continue his agenda through the last two years of his term of office.”
“If the Democrats win, because we nominate a flawed candidate with incredible baggage like the attorney general, then that last two years of [Trump’s] agenda is jeopardized, as well as everybody down ballot that we need to continue to elect as Republicans,” Cornyn added, per Fox News.
However, pointing to an Emerson poll that showed he had an edge over Cornyn in the lead up to primary, Paxton said “It’s really easy for him to say that when he’s losing a primary, because he’s not delivered for the people of Texas, and he’s going to find out tomorrow what that means. He’s going to end up losing.”
“This idea that I can’t win a race is not true… there’s no evidence of what he’s saying is being true. As a matter of fact, the evidence is just the opposite,” Paxton added.