The attorney general fundraised with Republican senators and met with rival-turned-ally John Thune, the Senate majority leader who had backed Sen. John Cornyn.
Gabby Birenbaum
Gabby Birenbaum is the Washington Correspondent for the Texas Tribune. She covers the Texas congressional delegation and the impact of federal policy on Texas. Gabby previously covered Washington for The Nevada Independent, where she wrote the weekly D.C. Download newsletter and covered the 2024 presidential election and competitive Senate race. Prior to The Nevada Independent, Gabby worked at The Washington Monthly and Vox. Gabby graduated from Northwestern University, where she studied journalism and political science. She is a native of Arlington, Virginia and is based in Washington, DC. In her free time, she enjoys playing tennis, watching movies and being a long-suffering fan of DC sports teams. Her work is supported by a partnership with Report for America.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
Senate GOP leaders spent months trashing Paxton. Can they turn the page and unify against Talarico?
Paxton’s blowout win on Tuesday compelled an alliance by necessity, if not natural synergy, between the attorney general and the Washington groups that spent months trying to elect John Cornyn.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
Ken Paxton defeats John Cornyn for U.S. Senate GOP nomination
The attorney general’s victory is a crushing blow to the Texas GOP’s old guard, which has faltered in recent years against the Paxton-led insurgent wing.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
Texas’ raucous primary runoffs end today. Here’s what to watch.
John Cornyn is trying to fend off Ken Paxton. Both parties are picking attorney general nominees. And an oil and gas regulatory race has become uncharacteristically costly.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
Rallies, ad blitzes and a Trump endorsement: inside the final days of the Cornyn-Paxton runoff
Nearly 14 months and $135 million later, Texas’ blockbuster Republican Senate primary will finally be decided Tuesday.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
Texas’ GOP Senate runoff pits an old guard-backed institutionalist against a Trump-picked flamethrower
The GOP establishment has gone to bat for John Cornyn, touting the statesmanship and Washington know-how that make him a favorite of his colleagues and a pariah among Paxton’s base.
Posted in
Politics
Dems slam Maureen Galindo’s comments as antisemitic in TX-35 runoff
Some party leaders are also also alleging GOP interference on behalf of Galindo, who said she would “turn Karnes ICE Detention Center into a prison for American Zionists” if elected.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
Trump endorses Ken Paxton in Senate GOP runoff
The development, coming partway through early voting, is a searing blow for John Cornyn, who finished first in the March runoff but was unable to convince Trump to endorse him.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
Here are the megadonors and dark money groups bankrolling John Cornyn and Ken Paxton’s Senate primary
The incumbent senator has dominated financially, thanks to an array of megadonors and dark money groups. The Tribune assembled a guide to the money behind the most expensive Senate primary ever.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
Outside cash floods U.S House runoffs in Texas
PACs have accounted for 89% of ad spending in Texas’ congressional runoffs as crypto, AI and mystery groups flood the contests.
