Republican voters in Texas roundly rejected incumbent U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) in Tuesday’s primary runoff election, instead choosing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) to face off with Democrats for the job in the general election. In the first round of primary voting, Cornyn won about 42% of the vote and Paxton took just about 41%, triggering a runoff election in which Paxton ultimately bested Cornyn by a margin of nearly two-to-one. As of Wednesday morning, Paxton has won 63.8% of the vote and was chosen by a majority of Republicans in all but two of Texas’s 254 counties. Cornyn is trailing Paxton with 36.2% of the vote and has only evinced popularity in Travis County, which includes Austin, and Kenedy County, south of Corpus Christi and Laredo.

Paxton has positioned himself as an “America First” candidate and a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, ultimately earning a Trump endorsement ahead of the runoff. While the president had refused to interfere in the first round of voting in the primary, he was eventually persuaded to endorse Paxton when Cornyn failed to play a role in passing the SAVE America Act, a sweeping election integrity bill that is still languishing in the Senate. “John Cornyn is a good man, and I worked well with him, but he was not supportive of me when times were tough,” the president said in a social media post last week, conversely referring to Paxton as “an America First Patriot” and a “true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas.”

In his victory speech Tuesday night, Paxton thanked the president for his support. “When everyone in Washington told him to abandon me and to abandon the people of Texas, he didn’t listen. Instead, he gave his complete and total endorsement,” the new Texas GOP Senate nominee said. “President Trump is the leader of our party, and his endorsement is the most powerful force in politics, and I am honored to have his support. I look forward to working with him in the Senate to deliver for Texas.”

A number of commentators have pointed to Cornyn’s failure to consistently support the president’s agenda as the reason that his 25-year Senate career has come to an end. “Translation: pass the SAVE Act,” said Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) of Cornyn’s ouster. Turning Point Action official Gabe Guidarini noted, “Cornyn’s refusal to … pass the SAVE Act, and his continued counter-signaling of President Trump’s immigration agenda are what sealed his demise. His mentality was rejected at the ballot box by the Republican base. And it wasn’t even close.” MAGA social media influencer Captive Dreamer posted, “Trump is the king of MAGA. John Cornyn tanked the SAVE act and paid the price. It’s Trump's party. Get on board or get primaried.”

Paxton was also supported by Turning Point Action, Republican election activist Scott Pressler, and a slate of congressional Republicans. He will face far-Left Democratic nominee James Talarico in the November midterm elections.