2026-05-26T10:08:11.186Z / reuters.com
华盛顿，5月26日路透电 —— 得克萨斯州的选举规模向来非同小可。
选民将于周二选出联邦参议员候选人，这场选举不仅可能决定参议院的控制权归属，还有望成为史上耗资最高的选举之一。
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74岁的四届联邦参议员约翰·科尼恩得到共和党领导层的支持，如今正与肯·佩克斯顿展开一场关乎其政治生命的激烈较量。佩克斯顿现年63岁，是深陷多起丑闻的德州总检察长，上周刚获得前总统唐纳德·特朗普的背书。
多数民调显示佩克斯顿领先科尼恩，这意味着他将直面民主党候选人——37岁的州众议员詹姆斯·塔莱里科。塔莱里科是长老会神学院学生，也是顶尖筹款人，其竞选团队一直在争取独立选民和温和派选民的支持。
参议院共和党竞选委员会去年在一份内部备忘录中警告，若佩克斯顿获得提名，“将给民主党机会拿下德州，迫使共和党斥资数亿美元，而这笔资金本可用于争夺其他关键摇摆州”。
目前共和党在参议院以53席对47席占据多数席位，民主党需要在今年11月的选举中净夺4个席位才能掌控参议院。民主党在2024年特朗普获胜的佐治亚州和密歇根州处于守势，但只要守住这两州席位，并拿下北卡罗来纳州、缅因州、俄亥俄州和阿拉斯加州，就能夺回参议院控制权。
德州自1994年以来就没有民主党人赢得过全州性选举，若该州出现竞争激烈的参议院选举，将拓宽民主党拿下参议院多数席位的路径，甚至可能迫使共和党将原本用于其他摇摆州的竞选资金转移过来，以保护本党在德州的候选人。2024年特朗普在德州以近14个百分点的优势获胜。
距离 runoff 选举（决胜初选）还有一周时，特朗普选择了忠诚而非 electability（当选可能性），持续展现其对共和党选民的绝对掌控力。本月，特朗普背书的挑战者击败了包括路易斯安那州参议员比尔·卡西迪和肯塔基州众议员托马斯·马西在内的党内对手。
“唐纳德·特朗普刚刚背书了一名被本党弹劾、因重罪欺诈被起诉、被自己的幕僚举报给联邦调查局、被勒令向试图打压的举报人支付660万美元，且妻子正基于宗教理由与其离婚的人，”参议院多数党政治行动委员会（民主党超级政治行动委员会）发言人劳伦·弗伦奇说道。佩克斯顿否认存在任何不当行为。
忠诚压倒当选可能性
决胜初选的获胜者将对阵塔莱里科。塔莱里科在3月击败联邦众议员贾斯敏·克罗克特后，提前三个月开启了大选竞选活动。
塔莱里科最初在民调中领先的优势已不复存在，最新民调显示，无论对阵科尼恩还是佩克斯顿，两人的支持率都不相上下，约8%的潜在选民尚未决定投票意向。
在3月的三党初选中，科尼恩仅以微弱优势领先佩克斯顿，两人因此进入5月的决胜初选。
政治专家表示，茶党和MAGA选民是共和党初选中最有可能投票的群体，这类选民更支持佩克斯顿。
特朗普将佩克斯顿的“极端”忠诚与科尼恩摇摆不定的支持态度进行了对比。但科尼恩表示，他相信共和党选民会“决定他们是想要一名能帮助下一轮选举中的共和党候选人、并在11月击败塔莱里科的强劲候选人，还是会选择一名危及我们所有关切之事的弱势候选人”。
科尼恩的竞选团队从一开始就攻击佩克斯顿的人品。针对“腐败的肯”的一系列攻击包括一款交友游戏，用户可以滑动浏览佩克斯顿被指存在的情妇。
佩克斯顿呼吁科尼恩为“我们政党的利益”停止负面广告宣传。
“我们已经调整了电视广告投放策略……确保我们的竞选活动以积极基调收尾，这样我们就能专注于在秋季击败左翼疯子，”佩克斯顿上周在X平台上写道。
多个国会选区举行众议院决胜初选
全州选民还将在十多个国会选区选出本党候选人。圣安东尼奥地区的第35国会选区将同时选出两党候选人，这是一个开放席位，民主党希望借此拿下该席位。
共和党将在州众议员约翰·卢汉和美国空军退伍军人卡洛斯·德拉克鲁兹之间做出选择。
民主党心仪的候选人是约翰尼·加西亚，他是贝萨尔县警长哈维尔·萨拉扎的公共信息官。
民主党指责共和党通过一个名为“领先左翼政治行动委员会”的共和党关联政治委员会干预民主党初选，该委员会斥资支持加西亚的对手莫琳·加林多——一名因反犹言论遭到广泛谴责的边缘候选人。
诺兰·D·麦卡斯基尔报道
迈克尔·利尔蒙特和罗莎尔巴·奥布莱恩编辑
Cornyn fights for political life against Trump-endorsed Paxton in Texas
2026-05-26T10:08:11.186Z / reuters.com
WASHINGTON, May 26 (Reuters) – Even the elections are bigger in Texas.
Voters will choose their nominee for U.S. Senate on Tuesday in a race that could help decide control of the chamber and may become one of the most expensive in history.
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John Cornyn, a 74-year-old four-term senator backed by Republican leadership, is locked in the fight of his political life against Ken Paxton, a 63-year-old, scandal-plagued attorney general who won President Donald Trump’s endorsement last week.
Paxton has led Cornyn in most public opinion polls, putting him on a collision course to face the Democratic nominee – 37-year-old state Representative James Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian and leading fundraiser whose campaign has appealed to independent and moderate voters.
Senate Republicans’ campaign arm warned in an internal memo last year that a Paxton nomination “would hand Democrats an opening to flip Texas and cause Republicans to divert hundreds of millions of dollars that would otherwise be spent winning key battlegrounds.”
Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate over Democrats, who would need to net four seats in this November’s election to take control of the chamber. Democrats are on defense in two states Trump won in 2024 – Georgia and Michigan – but could win the chamber by holding those two seats and flipping North Carolina, Maine, Ohio and Alaska.
A competitive race in Texas, where no Democrat has won statewide since 1994, would expand the party’s path to a majority and potentially force Republicans to redirect investments from more competitive battlegrounds to protect their nominee in a state Trump carried by nearly 14 percentage points in 2024.
In backing Paxton a week from the runoff, Trump chose loyalty over electability as he continues to flex his iron grip over Republican voters. This month, challengers backed by him ousted intraparty opponents including Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky.
“Donald Trump just endorsed a man who was impeached by his own party, indicted for felony fraud, reported to the FBI by his own staff, ordered to pay $6.6 million to the whistleblowers he tried to destroy, and whose wife is divorcing him on biblical grounds,” said Lauren French, a spokesperson for Senate Majority PAC, a Democratic super PAC. Paxton has denied any wrongdoing.
LOYALTY TRUMPS ELECTABILITY
The runoff winner will face Talarico, who got a three-month head start on his general election campaign after defeating U.S. Representative Jasmine Crockett on March 3.
Talarico’s initial lead in the opinion polls has evaporated, with the most recent survey showing the race in a dead heat regardless of whether he is competing against Cornyn or Paxton, with 8% of likely voters undecided.
In a three-way primary in March, Cornyn had a slim lead over Paxton and the two then proceeded to the May runoff.
Political experts say Tea Party and MAGA voters are the Republicans most likely to turn out in primaries and runoffs, an electorate that favors Paxton.
Trump contrasted Paxton’s “extreme” loyalty with Cornyn’s wavering support. But Cornyn said he was putting his trust in Republican voters, who will “decide if they want a strong nominee to help our GOP candidates down ballot and defeat Talarico in November, or a weak nominee who jeopardizes everything we care about.”
Cornyn’s campaign has attacked Paxton’s character from the beginning. The onslaught of attacks on “Crooked Ken” includes a dating game that allows users to swipe on Paxton’s alleged mistresses.
Paxton challenged Cornyn to stop the negative ads “for the good of our party.”
“We have already changed our TV ad traffic … to ensure our campaign ends on a positive note (so) that we can focus on beating the leftist lunatic in the fall,” Paxton wrote on X last week.
HOUSE RUNOFFS IN SEVERAL DISTRICTS
Voters across the state will also choose their nominees in more than a dozen congressional districts. Both parties’ nominees will be chosen in the San Antonio-area 35th district, an open seat Democrats are hoping to flip.
Republicans will choose between state Representative John Lujan and U.S. Air Force veteran Carlos De La Cruz.
Democrats’ preferred candidate is Johnny Garcia, a public information officer for Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar.
Democrats have accused Republicans of meddling in their primary through a Republican-aligned political committee called Lead Left PAC that has spent funds on boosting Garcia’s opponent, Maureen Galindo, a fringe candidate who has been widely condemned for antisemitic comments.
Reporting by Nolan D. McCaskill. Editing by Michael Learmonth and Rosalba O’Brien