They lost their candidate. Now they could help decide who wins. Republicans who backed John Cornyn in his bitter Senate primary fight against Ken Paxton are among the most coveted voters in Texas. But many are struggling with where to land in November: Stick with Paxton, cross party lines for Democrat James Talarico or sit out the race altogether. About 910,000 Texans voted for Cornyn in the ...

John Cornyn, R- Texas, speaks to reporters after members of the Senate Judiciary Committee gathered to vote on the nomination of Todd Blanche to be Attorney General on Aug. 4, 2026, in Washington, D.C..

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images North America/TNS

They lost their candidate. Now they could help decide who wins.

Republicans who backed John Cornyn in his bitter Senate primary fight against Ken Paxton are among the most coveted voters in Texas. But many are struggling with where to land in November: Stick with Paxton, cross party lines for Democrat James Talarico or sit out the race altogether.

About 910,000 Texans voted for Cornyn in the March Republican primary. A little more than 500,000 backed him in the May runoff, which he lost to Paxton by nearly 28 percentage points.

They make up only a sliver of the Texas electorate, but in a Senate race this close, the Cornyn bloc has become one of the biggest prizes in the Nov. 3 election.

“Paxton’s fate is in the hands of those moderate Republicans, who he and many of his colleagues have long vilified – the Cornyn voters, the Bush voters,” said Rice University political scientist Mark Jones.

Paxton, the attorney general, has leaned on President Donald Trump’s endorsement to rally the GOP base, while Talarico, an Austin state representative, has emphasized unity and affordability to attract disaffected Republicans.

Cornyn’s supporters are squarely in the sights of both campaigns. Interviews by The Dallas Morning News reveal deep divisions among them over Paxton’s character, loyalty to the Republican Party and Democrats’ efforts to win them over.

Real estate agent

Adora Gnuschke, a 39-year-old Cedar Park real estate agent, voted for Cornyn in the Republican primary, putting aside her concerns that he wasn’t always aligned with the president.

She also questioned the longtime senator’s record on issues such as illegal immigration and Second Amendment rights.

Still, she recognized the value of his seniority and had reservations about Paxton’s personal conduct stemming in part from his 2023 impeachment.

“Integrity is important in politics,” Gnuschke said.

Gnuschke plans to vote for Paxton despite her earlier hesitancy because it’s “way more important” for Texas to maintain its Republican identity. She also supports his positions on issues, such as transgender athletes competing in girls’ sports.

She objected to Talarico’s past comments about religion, such as using the term “nonbinary” to describe God.

“I'm a believer in Christ, and so whatever Talarico’s version of Christianity is, is not what I know to be true, so that makes him a non-starter,” she said.

Tech worker

For some longtime Republicans, Paxton’s nomination has pushed them toward a choice they once might have considered unthinkable.

Preston Hutcherson once served as vice president of a Young Republicans group at Southern Methodist University.

The 34-year-old Richardson tech worker describes himself as a conservative in the mold of former President George W. Bush, part of the Republican Party’s more traditional wing.

He has voted Republican much of his adult life and went for Cornyn in the spring. This November, Hutcherson said he will vote for Talarico.

“I trust his judgment and his compassion and his thoughtfulness more than I trust Ken Paxton,” Hutcherson said.

Former council member

Dorothy Burton, a former Duncanville City Council member, said she voted for Cornyn even though she believed he had made policy concessions to Trump to win the president’s endorsement.

“That wasn’t the same John Cornyn who was kissing the ring of Trump, and it was very disappointing,” she said.

She had backed Paxton every time he was on the ballot for attorney general. But this year, she’s donning a black “Talarico for Texas” T-shirt as she prepares to vote for a Democrat after consistently backing Republicans for four decades.

Her support for Paxton ended in 2023, when his impeachment by the GOP-led Texas House laid bare damaging allegations, including bribery and obstruction of justice.

“There’s no way I would ever vote for him for anything,” she said.

The state Senate acquitted Paxton, and he has denied all wrongdoing.

Former mayor

John Huffman knows about bitter elections.

The former Southlake mayor was branded a RINO – Republican in name only – during a losing state Senate bid in Tarrant County last year.

The attacks didn’t come from the Democratic candidate. They came from a fellow Republican.

Huffman said the GOP primary system has been infected by organizations and activists that he called “an extreme right outrage machine that is very good at winning angry, divisive primaries.”

“That makes unity very difficult to achieve when you emerge from the primary,” he said. “It makes the relationships very tough to repair. That's what you've seen with Cornyn and Paxton.”

Huffman said those feuds hurt the party and alienate moderates and independents needed in a general election. He said he likely will abstain from voting in the Senate race.

“We have a terrible nominee at the top of the ticket that can’t bring the Republicans home,” he said. “That’s a huge problem.”

Teacher

Joshua Gutierrez, a 45-year-old Mesquite elementary school teacher, said he voted for Cornyn in the primary and runoff.

He had doubts about Paxton after reading about him on social media, saying he seems bitter and negative.

“I’m not too much a fan of that, but you know, the platform is the one I’m voting for, ultimately,” he said.

Speaking earlier this month, Gutierrez said he had yet to make up his mind.

He sees the Republican Party as more closely aligned with his Judeo-Christian values. But he struggles with Paxton’s flaws and the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration policies, which he believes conflict with those same values.

The senator

Texas’ last close Senate race shows what’s at stake for Cornyn’s supporters.

In 2018, more than 8.3 million Texans voted in the matchup between Republican Ted Cruz and Democrat Beto O’Rourke. Cruz won by just 214,921 votes, or 2.56 percentage points.

The roughly 910,000 Texans who backed Cornyn in March represent more than four times that margin, although how many will turn out remains unknown.

Cornyn has kept his distance from Paxton since the runoff. He has declined to raise money for his former rival, instead helping Senate candidates in other states.

The strained relationship spilled into view this month when CNN obtained a recording of Paxton telling fundraisers that Cornyn wanted him to lose. Paxton said a friend heard Cornyn say as much at a Dallas restaurant, but Cornyn’s camp said the exchange didn’t happen.

Last week, Cornyn again denied trying to undermine Paxton, saying his priority was keeping Republicans in control of the Senate.

“I've said I'd support the ticket and that's been my position all along,” Cornyn told CNBC.

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(Video producer Azul Sordo Ortiz Hernan contributed to this report.)

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