2026-05-27T17:42:06-0400 / https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-primary-runoff-takeaways-paxton-cornyn-talarico-trump/
华盛顿讯 —— 在周二的初选 runoffs 中，一名连任四届的共和党籍联邦参议员输给了特朗普背书的挑战者，至此得克萨斯州11月大选的候选人名单正式敲定。与此同时，得克萨斯州民主党正力争自1988年以来首次拿下联邦参议院席位。
参议院竞选只是周二晚间的一则焦点事件，诸多下议院初选 races 凸显了两党在全美范围内都可见的更大主题。
以下是此次选举的部分核心要点：
特朗普背书的影响力
共和党参议员约翰·科尼恩（John Cornyn）在共和党初选runoff中败于得克萨斯州总检察长肯·帕克斯顿（Ken Paxton），以27个百分点的差距丢掉了自己已担任24年的参议院席位。
此次竞选的一个决定性因素是：一周前，特朗普总统背书了帕克斯顿。
尽管科尼恩在竞选活动中多次强调，自己与特朗普总统的投票重合率超过99%，但这位任职已久的得克萨斯州参议员曾在特朗普第一任期结束后质疑过他的当选可行性。在背书科尼恩的对手时，特朗普表示：“约翰·科尼恩是个好人，我与他合作愉快，但在艰难时刻他并不支持我。” 相比之下，特朗普称帕克斯顿是“真正的‘让美国再次伟大’斗士”，并强调了他的忠诚度。
许多共和党建制派人士曾认为，科尼恩是在大选中对抗民主党候选人、得克萨斯州州众议员詹姆斯·塔拉里科（James Talarico）的更强人选。塔拉里科在3月的初选中首轮便获得多数选票，无需参加周二的runoff。
科尼恩此前担任参议院共和党二号人物，是2024年少数几位被认为有望出任多数党领袖的人选之一。他的参议院同僚称赞科尼恩是一位多产的筹款人和立法者。上周特朗普背书帕克斯顿后，参议院多数党领袖约翰·图恩（John Thune）称科尼恩是“有原则的保守派”，也是“得克萨斯州一位非常高效的参议员”。
帕克斯顿的胜利撼动参议院共和党领导层
帕克斯顿的预计胜利对参议院共和党领导层是重大打击，后者数月来一直支持科尼恩。
共和党目前在参议院以53席的微弱多数占据多数党地位。民主党要夺回参议院多数席位面临艰难路径——他们需要净增4个参议院席位，同时还要捍卫2个在2024年总统选举中特朗普获胜的州的席位。
尽管在少数州 flipping 席位的路径更为明确，但民主党再次将希望寄托在孤星之州（得克萨斯州）。《库克政治报告》表示，若帕克斯顿成为候选人，得克萨斯州将具备竞争力，其评级从“大概率共和党”调整为“倾向共和党”。
当被问及特朗普背书帕克斯顿是否会让共和党更难守住参议院席位时，图恩上周在新闻发布会上表示：“一个州无法决定此次选举的结果，但显然我们重视每一个州，我们也希望帮助现任议员成功连任。”
即便在11月大选前，帕克斯顿获得提名就可能改变参议院的态势，因为科尼恩成为了最新一位被特朗普总统冷落的共和党人。
科尼恩如今可能更倾向于与本届政府决裂，路易斯安那州参议员比尔·卡西迪（Bill Cassidy）和北卡罗来纳州参议员汤姆·蒂利斯（Thom Tillis）近几个月已展现出这种倾向。卡西迪在初选中输给了特朗普背书的候选人，蒂利斯则在总统威胁发起初选挑战后放弃了连任。
特朗普选择背书帕克斯顿而非科尼恩，似乎已经影响了共和党议程，加剧了上周参议院共和党人与代理司法部长托德·布兰奇（Todd Blanche）之间的激烈会议，最终导致共和党领导人取消了就移民执法机构拨款进行投票的计划。
帕克斯顿带有争议的过往
帕克斯顿的初选胜利证明了他能够经受住一系列丑闻的冲击。但如果他击败塔拉里科赢得参议院席位，他将带着沉重的包袱进入国会。
帕克斯顿于2014年首次当选得克萨斯州总检察长。任职初期，他积极起诉奥巴马政府，后来又表示自己已针对拜登政府提起超过100起诉讼。他的前妻安吉拉·帕克斯顿（Angela Paxton）在竞选活动中演唱了一首歌词为“我是持枪悍妇，丈夫起诉奥巴马”的歌曲。
他还曾提起诉讼，试图推翻特朗普在2020年大选中在宾夕法尼亚州、密歇根州、佐治亚州和威斯康星州的败选结果，该案件被最高法院驳回。
2015年，帕克斯顿因证券欺诈指控被起诉，但2024年通过审前转处协议撤销了指控。2023年，得克萨斯州众议院以共和党占多数的121票赞成、23票反对的投票结果，弹劾帕克斯顿犯有贿赂、玩忽职守和漠视公职等罪名，其中包括60多名本党议员和来自其家乡科林县的所有5名代表。他被指控解雇四名举报人，随后动用州资金支付法院判决的赔偿金。
帕克斯顿还被指控利用职权为与其有婚外情的女性谋取工作和公寓。尽管时任州参议员的安吉拉·帕克斯顿在审判期间始终站在他身边，但后来她以“宗教教义原因”提出离婚，理由包括不忠。
帕克斯顿被州参议院宣判无罪，但其办公室仍需向四名举报人支付至少670万美元。据美联社报道，拜登政府司法部在任期最后几天悄然撤销了对帕克斯顿的调查。
帕克斯顿一直否认存在任何不当行为。
与此同时，帕克斯顿试图将塔拉里科描绘成极左翼候选人，称其为“詹姆斯·塔拉-怪胎-科”，并提及这名民主党人的过往言论，包括他在一次演讲中称“上帝是非二元性别的”。
塔拉里科周三在接受CBS新闻采访时承认，他过去的一些言论“未达预期”，但指责帕克斯顿“故意截取我令人尴尬的言论，以转移人们对其腐败职业生涯的关注”。
“让美国再次伟大”派共和党人击败建制派共和党人物
与特朗普的“让美国再次伟大”运动结盟的候选人在周二击败了共和党建制派翼人物——这场胜利始于参议院共和党初选。
科尼恩代表了一代不同的得克萨斯州共和党人，他于1998年首次当选总检察长，当时乔治·W·布什担任州长。布什的继任者、州长里克·佩里（Rick Perry）曾大力为科尼恩助选，科尼恩也获得了许多得克萨斯州共和党老派人物的背书。
帕克斯顿称科尼恩是建制派成员，未充分契合“让美国再次伟大”理念，并赢得了最重要的背书：特朗普总统的支持。
该州现任多数共和党官员并未过多介入此次竞选，州长格雷格·雅培（Greg Abbott）、副州长丹·帕特里克（Dan Patrick）和参议员特德·克鲁兹（Ted Cruz）在周二runoff前已表态支持。但他们都在周二晚间向帕克斯顿的胜利表示祝贺，并呼吁共和党人团结起来。
在旨在接替帕克斯顿担任州总检察长的共和党初选runoff中，州众议员梅斯·米德尔顿（Mayes Middleton）成功将美国众议员奇普·罗伊（Chip Roy）描绘成一名建制派候选人，称其对特朗普总统的支持不够。罗伊是众议院自由核心小组成员，也是国会中最保守的共和党人之一，他有时会与特朗普决裂，尤其是在2020年大选后。
前塔兰特县专员博·弗伦奇（Bo French）在共和党初选runoff中击败现任议员吉姆·赖特（Jim Wright），角逐铁路委员会委员一职。弗伦奇的竞选活动较少提及该职位本身——该职位负责监管石油和天然气行业，而非铁路——更多强调他对特朗普总统的忠诚。他承诺将利用该职位对抗“多元化、公平与包容（DEI）、过度监管，以及激进伊斯兰教和中国共产党在得克萨斯州石油行业的影响力”。
拉美裔选民的重要性
拉美裔选民正成为得克萨斯州参议院竞选中或许最重要的投票群体，两党都在投入资源争取他们在11月大选前的支持。
拉美裔目前约占得克萨斯州人口的40%，是该州最大的族裔群体，他们的政治支持从可靠的民主党阵营转向略微倾向共和党，已成了得克萨斯州政坛的一场地震。根据出口民调，在2024年选举周期中，特朗普与拉美裔选民取得历史性突破，在得克萨斯州赢得了约55%的拉美裔选票。特朗普在全国范围内获得了约48%的拉美裔选票，较2020年上升了12个百分点。
这一转变在南得克萨斯州最为明显，特朗普在2016年竞选期间甚至未能在美墨边境附近的里奥格兰德河谷四个县（伊达尔戈、卡梅伦、斯塔尔和维拉科查）获得30%的选票，而此次却拿下了这四个县。
但有迹象表明，民主党正在重新获得拉美裔选民的支持。在3月初选中，得克萨斯州民主党在里奥格兰德河谷的投票率较2024年翻了一番以上，得克萨斯州民意调查机构的近期民调显示，民主党候选人塔拉里科在拉美裔选民中对帕克斯顿拥有显著优势。
同一份民调发现，生活成本担忧而非移民或边境安全，是得克萨斯州拉美裔选民的首要议题，这与该州和全国范围内的首要关切相一致。
如果民主党能够提高在拉美裔选民中的支持率，将拓宽他们在得克萨斯州实现翻盘的狭窄路径——该州自1994年以来就未选出过民主党籍全州官员。对得克萨斯州共和党人而言，在没有特朗普作为候选人的情况下，能否将这个摇摆投票群体留在特朗普2024年的阵营中，可能决定了该党能否守住这个关键的参议院席位。
重划选区之争引发两党内斗
去年夏天，特朗普要求得克萨斯州州共和党人重新绘制众议院选区地图，使其更有利于共和党，由此开启了两党之间的中期重划选区之争。此举让一些民主党人陷入困境，部分人发现自己所在的选区变得更有利于共和党，或是与另一位现任议员同处一个选区。周二的选举结果也体现了这一余波。
深蓝的第35选区如今倾向变红，进步派众议员格雷格·卡萨尔（Greg Casar）决定竞选其他席位后，圣安东尼奥地区的该选区出现了公开的民主党初选。住房倡导者兼性治疗师莫林·加林多（Maureen Galindo）在3月初选中得票最多，但在周二runoff前，她因发表被两党成员谴责为反犹主义的言论而受到抨击。她最终输给了约翰尼·加西亚（Johnny Garcia），后者将在11月与共和党候选人卡洛斯·德拉克鲁兹（Carlos De La Cruz）对决。
资深众议员马克·维西（Marc Veasey）所在的沃斯堡地区第33选区也受到重划选区的影响，尽管该选区仍对民主党友好，但他决定不寻求连任。现任众议员朱莉·约翰逊（Julie Johnson）的选区变得更有利于共和党，因此她选择转战第33选区。但在 filing 截止日当天，约翰逊在众议院的前任、前众议员科林·奥雷德（Colin Allred）宣布参选挑战她。
奥雷德在3月初选中得票最多，但未获得足够票数避免与约翰逊进行runoff，这场本已激烈的竞选进一步延长。鉴于该选区的民主党倾向，奥雷德在周二击败约翰逊后，11月大选的胜算较大。
在休斯顿，资深众议员阿尔·格林（Al Green）——以经常与特朗普对抗而闻名——也被划入了更有利于共和党的选区。他转而选择在附近的第18选区参选，这是一个安全的民主党席位，他挑战了新任国会众议员克里斯蒂安·梅尼菲（Christian Menefee）。梅尼菲在周二击败格林，且11月大选的胜算较大。
民主党派系仍存分歧
在新划分的第18选区，78岁的格林输给了38岁的梅尼菲。梅尼菲今年早些时候首次当选，接替于2024年7月去世、享年74岁的众议员希拉·杰克逊·李（Sheila Jackson Lee）。特纳本人是在2024年当选后一个月去世的，他接替了长期任职的众议员希拉·杰克逊·李。
格林自2005年起进入国会，长期以来一直是民主党事业的代表人物。他在两届任期内都提出了弹劾特朗普总统的条款，并因在2025年国会联席会议上打断特朗普的演讲而被众议院谴责。多名民主党人与共和党人一起投下了谴责票。
在进入国会之前，梅尼菲已是民主党党内的后起之秀——他是首位黑人哈里斯县检察官，也是得克萨斯州人口最多的县的民事律师，同时是有史以来最年轻的哈里斯县检察官当选者。
第33选区的情况有所不同，约翰逊和奥雷德在此对决，代表了民主党的不同身份认同。约翰逊是白人，是首位从南方当选的公开同性恋身份的众议院议员；奥雷德是黑人，曾是NFL球员和民权律师。据《得克萨斯论坛报》报道，该多元选区虽然以民主党为主，但55%为拉美裔，22%为白人，15%为黑人。
在3月的参议院民主党初选中，奥雷德退选后，塔拉里科与同样来自达拉斯的众议员贾斯敏·克罗克特（Jasmine Crockett）展开对决。此前有网红指控塔拉里科称奥雷德为“平庸的黑人男性”，塔拉里科予以否认。奥雷德随后背书了克罗克特，克罗克特也一直在与奥雷德共同竞选。而塔拉里科上周则与约翰逊一同开展竞选活动。
反犹主义指控呈上升趋势
得克萨斯州的民主党和共和党候选人都面临反犹主义指控。
加林多曾承诺，如果当选，将把移民拘留设施改建为“美国犹太复国主义者的监狱”，这一言论引发全国关注。在其他社交媒体帖子中，她声称“亿万富翁犹太复国主义者”应被关进监狱，“与犹太复国主义有关的候选人和政客”应接受“叛国审判”。加林多否认自己是反犹主义者，但表示她“反对犹太复国主义犹太人”。
得克萨斯州和华盛顿的民主党人与加林多划清界限，同时指责共和党关联团体支持她的竞选。
而赢得周二铁路委员会委员runoff的弗伦奇，此前曾在社交媒体上发布一项投票，询问犹太人或穆斯林“对美国的威胁更大”。
弗伦奇的对手、现任得克萨斯州铁路委员会委员吉姆·赖特曾从得克萨斯桑德斯PAC获得50万美元捐款，该组织由赌场大亨米里亚姆·阿德尔森（Miriam Adelson）资助。赖特表示，这“凸显了博·弗伦奇对犹太人民的仇恨攻击和他反复出现的反犹言论”。阿德尔森博士和我坚定地站在以色列一边，我与得克萨斯州各地的保守派领导人一道，谴责他这种无知的偏执行为。”
Takeaways from Texas’ primary runoffs: Trump’s power, the shifting Latino vote, the redistricting wars and more
2026-05-27T17:42:06-0400 / https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-primary-runoff-takeaways-paxton-cornyn-talarico-trump/
Washington — The November ballot in Texas is now set, after a four-term incumbent Republican senator lost to a Trump-endorsed challenger in Tuesday’s primary runoffs. Meanwhile, Texas Democrats are angling to win their first Senate race since 1988.
The Senate race was just one storyline on Tuesday night, as many downballot primary races highlighted larger themes seen throughout the country for both Democrats and Republicans.
Here are some of the top takeaways from Tuesday’s election:
Power of Trump’s endorsement
Republican Sen. John Cornyn fell to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a GOP primary runoff, losing the Senate seat he has held for 24 years by a 27-percentage-point margin.
One decisive factor in the race: A week beforehand, President Trump backed Paxton.
While Cornyn frequently stressed on the campaign trail that he has voted with Mr. Trump over 99% of the time, the longtime Texas senator questioned Mr. Trump’s electability after his first term in office. In his endorsement of Cornyn’s opponent, Mr. Trump said “John Cornyn is a good man, and I worked well with him, but he was not supportive of me when times were tough.” By comparison, the president called Paxton a “true MAGA Warrior” and stressed his loyalty.
Many establishment Republicans had seen Cornyn as a stronger candidate to take on the Democratic nominee, Texas state Rep. James Talarico, in the general election. Talarico did not face a runoff on Tuesday after he won a majority of the vote in the first round of the primaries in March.
Cornyn previously served as the No. 2 Senate Republican, and was among a handful of men who were considered for majority leader in 2024 year. His colleagues in the Senate lauded Cornyn as a prolific fundraiser and legislator. Last week, after Mr. Trump endorsed Paxton, Senate Majority Leader John Thune called Cornyn a “principled conservative” and a “very effective senator for the state of Texas.”
Paxton’s victory shakes up Senate GOP
Paxton’s projected victory marks a major blow to Senate Republican leadership, who spent months supporting Cornyn.
Republicans currently have a narrow 53-seat majority in the Senate. Democrats face a challenging path to winning over the upper chamber — they need to net four new Senate seats to retake the majority, and they’re defending two seats in states that the president won in 2024.
While a handful of states offer more straightforward pathways to flip seats, Democrats are once again looking hopefully at the Lone Star State. The Cook Political Report said with Paxton as the nominee, Texas becomes competitive, shifting its rating from likely to leaning Republican.
Asked whether Mr. Trump’s endorsement of Paxton makes it harder for Republicans to hold onto the Senate, Thune said at a news conference last week: “One state doesn’t determine the outcome of this election, but obviously we care about every state and we care about helping see our incumbents succeed.”
Even before November, Paxton’s nomination could change the dynamic in the Senate, as Cornyn becomes the latest Republican scorned by the president.
Cornyn may be more inclined to break with the administration now, a tendency that Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Thom Tillis of North Carolina have exemplified in recent months. Cassidy lost his primary to a Trump-backed candidate, and Tillis declined to seek reelection after the president threatened a primary challenge.
Already, the president’s move to endorse Paxton over Cornyn has seemed to impact the GOP agenda, adding fuel to a heated meeting between Senate Republicans and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche last week that ended with GOP leaders scrapping plans to vote on funding for immigration enforcement agencies.
Paxton brings a controversial past
Paxton’s primary victory showed his ability to withstand a history of scandals. But if he defeats Talarico and wins the Senate seat, he will arrive at the Capitol with significant baggage.
Paxton was first elected as Texas attorney general in 2014. He aggressively sued the Obama administration early in his tenure, and later said he filed more than 100 lawsuits against the Biden administration. His then-wife, Angela Paxton, sang a song on the campaign trail with the lyrics: “I’m a pistol-packing mama whose husband sues Obama.”
He also filed a lawsuit to overturn Mr. Trump’s 2020 election losses in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia and Wisconsin. The case was tossed by the Supreme Court.
In 2015, Paxton was indicted on securities fraud charges, but they were dropped in 2024 as part of a pre-trial diversion deal. In 2023, he was impeached on charges of bribery, dereliction of duty and disregard of official duties by the GOP-majority Texas House in a 121-23 vote, including more than 60 members of his own party and all five representatives from his home area of Collin County. He was accused of firing four whistleblowers and then using the state funds to pay court-ordered restitution.
Paxton was also accused of using his position to secure a job and apartment for a woman with whom he was having an affair, and although Angela Paxton, then a state senator, stood by his side at the trial, she later filed for divorce. In the divorce filings, she cited “biblical grounds” as the reason for divorce, including infidelity.
Paxton was acquitted by the state Senate, and his office will still have to pay at least $6.7 million to the four whistleblowers. According to the Associated Press, the Biden Justice Department in its final days quietly dropped an investigation into Paxton.
Paxton has consistently denied all wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, Paxton has sought to cast Talarico as a far-left candidate, labeling him “James Tala-freak-o” and highlighting previous remarks by the Democrat, including a speech in which he said “God is nonbinary.”
Talarico acknowledged in a CBS News interview Wednesday that some of his past comments “missed the mark,” but accused Paxton of “intentionally clipping my cringey comments to distract from his career of corruption.”
MAGA Republicans overtake establishment GOP figures
Candidates aligned with the president’s MAGA movement notched wins against the establishment wing of the Republican party on Tuesday — starting with the Senate GOP primary.
Cornyn represents a different generation of Texas Republicans, having first been elected as attorney general in 1998, when George W. Bush was governor. Bush’s successor as governor, Rick Perry, had campaigned heavily for Cornyn, and Cornyn touted endorsements from many in the old guard of Texas Republicans.
Paxton called Cornyn a member of the establishment and not sufficiently MAGA-aligned, and Paxton won the most important endorsement: from Mr. Trump.
The state’s current crop of elected Republicans mostly stayed out of the race, with Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Sen. Ted Cruz endorsing before Tuesday’s runoff. But they all congratulated Paxton on his win on Tuesday night and urged Republicans to come together.
In the Republican primary runoff to replace Paxton as state attorney general, state Rep. Mayes Middleton successfully painted U.S. Rep. Chip Roy as an establishment candidate who was insufficiently supportive of Mr. Trump. Roy, a member of the House Freedom Caucus and one of the most conservative Republicans in Congress, had sometimes broken with Mr. Trump, notably after the 2020 election.
Former Tarrant County Commissioner Bo French defeated incumbent Jim Wright in a GOP primary runoff for railroad commissioner. French’s campaign focused less on the job itself — which regulates the oil and gas industry, not railroads — and more on his loyalty to Mr. Trump. He pledged to use the office to fight “DEI, overbearing regulation, and the influence of radical Islam and the [Chinese Communist Party] in Texas oil.”
Importance of Latino voters
Latino voters are emerging as perhaps the most important voting bloc in Texas’ Senate race, and both parties are pouring resources into winning them over ahead of November.
Latinos now make up roughly 40% of Texas’ population, the largest ethnic group in the state, and their shifting political support from a reliably Democratic group to one that leans slightly toward Republicans has been an earthquake in Texas politics. During the 2024 cycle, Mr. Trump made historic inroads with Hispanics and won roughly 55% of Latino voters in Texas, according to exit polling. The president captured about 48% of Latino voters nationwide, a 12-point shift from 2020.
The shift was most evident in South Texas, where Mr. Trump carried all four counties (Hidalgo, Cameron, Starr and Willacy) in the Rio Grande Valley near the U.S.-Mexico border after failing to win even 30% of the vote there during his 2016 campaign.
But there are signs Democrats are regaining some footing with Latino voters. During the March primary, Texas Democrats more than doubled turnout in the Rio Grande Valley compared to 2024 levels, and recent polling from Texas Public Opinion Research showed Democratic nominee Talarico holds a sizable advantage among Latino voters over Paxton.
The same polling found cost-of-living concerns, and not immigration or border security, rank as the top issue for Texas Latinos, mirroring top concerns across the state and national landscape.
If Democrats can improve their margins with Latino voters, it could widen their narrow path towards a potential upset in Texas, where they have not won statewide since 1994. For Texas Republicans, keeping this swing voting group inside Mr. Trump’s 2024 tent, without him atop the ticket, may determine whether the party keeps this crucial Senate seat in their column.
Redistricting wars pit Democrats against each other
The mid-decade redistricting wars between both parties started in Texas last summer, when Mr. Trump asked state Republicans to redraw their House map to be more friendly to the GOP. The move left some Democrats scrambling as some found themselves in GOP-leaning districts or in the same district as another incumbent. The fallout could be seen in Tuesday’s results.
The deep-blue 35th District now leans red, leading to an open Democratic primary in the San Antonio-area district after progressive Rep. Greg Casar decided to run for a different seat. Housing advocate and sex therapist Maureen Galindo was the top vote-getter in the March primary, but ahead of Tuesday’s runoff, she came under fire for making statements that members of both parties rebuked as antisemitic. She lost to Johnny Garcia, who will face Republican Carlos De La Cruz in November.
Longtime Rep. Marc Veasey’s Fort Worth-area 33rd District was also affected by redistricting, and although it is still a Democratic-friendly seat, he decided not to run for reelection. Incumbent Rep. Julie Johnson, whose district had become more favorable to Republicans, opted to run instead in the 33rd District. But on the day of the filing deadline, Johnson’s predecessor in the House, former Rep. Colin Allred, filed to run against her.
Allred was the top vote-getter in March but did not get enough votes to avoid a runoff against Johnson, lengthening an already nasty race. Given the district’s Democratic lean, Allred is favored to win in November after defeating Johnson on Tuesday.
And in Houston, longtime Rep. Al Green — known as a frequent Trump antagonist — was also drawn into a more Republican-friendly district. He opted instead to run in the nearby 18th District, a safe Democratic seat, challenging a newcomer to Congress, Rep. Christian Menefee. Menefee prevailed over Green on Tuesday, and is favored to win in November.
Democratic factions still causing conflicts
In the newly created 18th District, 78-year-old Green lost to 38-year-old Menefee, who was first elected earlier this year to replace Rep. Sylvester Turner, who died at age 70 one month after being elected. Turner himself had been elected to replace longtime Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who died at the age of 74 in July 2024.
Green has been in Congress since 2005, and has long been a face for Democratic causes. He has introduced articles of impeachment against Mr. Trump in both his terms, and was censured by the House for interrupting Mr. Trump’s address before a joint session in 2025. Several Democrats joined with Republicans for the censure vote.
Before serving in Congress, Menefee was already a rising star in the Democratic party — he was the first Black attorney and the youngest-ever person to be elected as Harris County Attorney, the civil litigator for the largest county by population in Texas.
There are different dynamics playing out in the 33rd District, where Johnson and Allred are facing off and representing different identities of the Democratic party. Johnson, who is White, is the first openly LGBT person to be elected to the House from the South, while Allred, who is Black, is a former NFL player and civil rights attorney. The diverse district, while heavily Democratic, is 55% Hispanic, 22% White and 15% Black, according to the Texas Tribune.
In the Senate Democratic primary in March, Talarico had faced off against Rep. Jasmine Crockett, also of Dallas, after Allred dropped out of the race. Allred had weighed in on that race after an influencer alleged Talarico called him a “mediocre Black man,” which Talarico denied. Allred then endorsed Crockett, and Crockett has been campaigning with Allred. Talarico, meanwhile, campaigned with Johnson last week.
Accusations of antisemitism on the rise
Both Democratic and Republican candidates in Texas have faced allegations of antisemitism.
Galindo made national headlines after she pledged to turn an immigration detention facility into a “prison for American Zionists” if elected. In other social media posts, she argued that “billionaire Zionists” belong in prison and that “Zionist associated candidates and politicians” deserve “treason trials.” Galindo has denied being antisemitic, but said she is “against Zionist Jews.”
Democrats in Texas and D.C. distanced themselves from Galindo, while also accusing Republican-aligned groups of propping up her candidacy.
And French, who won Tuesday’s runoff for railroad commissioner, had previously posted on social media a poll asking whether Jews or Muslims are “a bigger threat to America.”
French’s opponent, incumbent Texas Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright, had received $500,000 from Texas Sands PAC, a group financed by casino magnate Miriam Adelson, which he said “underscores Bo French’s hateful attacks on the Jewish people and his repeated anti-Semitic rhetoric. Dr. Adelson and I stand firmly with the state of Israel, and I join conservative leaders across Texas in condemning his ignorant bigotry.”
发表回复