CORNYN ROLLS OVER FOR DEMOCRAT TALARICO AFTER TEXAS SENATE FLIP
Sen. John Cornyn wasted no time congratulating Democrat James Talarico on winning Texas’s U.S. Senate seat, the first Democratic win there since 1988.
Critics immediately called it out: “Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) goes FULL pro-James Talarico mode, congratulating the Democrat weirdo and vowing to do everything he needs before he’s sworn in.” They quoted Cornyn’s own statement: “The voters have spoken, and I want to extend my congratulations to James Talarico on his election to the U.S. Senate. I look forward to meeting him and offering my assistance with his transition as he prepares to serve Texans in the U.S. Senate.” The response summed it up simply: “Of course he’d say this.”
Cornyn lost his own primary to Ken Paxton earlier this year. Paxton then lost to Talarico in a race many Republicans treated as must-win. Instead of focusing on the loss or the issues that produced it, Cornyn offered the incoming Democrat help with the transition.
The reaction from the right was immediate and unimpressed. Conservatives saw the move as another example of an establishment Republican treating a major defeat as a routine handoff rather than a serious setback.
Talarico’s win flips a longtime Republican seat and changes the math for Senate control. Cornyn’s public response treated the result as settled and the new senator as someone he was ready to assist. That is the message that landed with his critics.