Ken Paxton Wins Industry-Dividing Texas Republican Runoff

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the Texas U.S. Senate Republican primary runoff in a landslide.

The battle for the senate spot was ultimately over each candidate’s vision for the future of the Republican party. The Dallas Morning News reported that Paxton was seen as more aligned with the MAGA movement, Cornyn with more establishment GOP lines. President Donald Trump-endorsed Paxton just last week after declining to make an endorsement after the March primary.

Cornyn scored more of the vote in the March 3 primary race, split roughly 42 percent to 40 percent for Paxton, but neither secured the nomination, sending the vote to a runoff. Paxton flipped the initial primary results with nearly 64 percent of the runoff vote.

Paxton will now square off against Democratic nominee James Talarico.

The real estate world’s endorsements were split, and the implications for the future of the GOP, along with real estate industry implications, led the race to become the most expensive in Texas state history.

Previous battle lines among real estate figures in the state remained unchanged through the runoff. Dallas-based Hillwood Development chairman Ross Perot Jr. backed Cornyn with several donations, as did Billingsley Company co-founder Lucy Billingsley. The Mischer family, who operate Houston-based Mischer Investments, threw their weight behind the incumbent as well.

Paxton’s support in the state came from Danny Signorelli, the founder of Houston-based developer Signorelli Company, James Mabrey, Rex Glendenning and Centurion American CEO Mehrdad Moyaedi, according to prior reporting in The Real Deal.

The narrative around the race was that it was a bellwether for the future of the Republican party, and the increased scrutiny drew money from out-of-state industry players. South Florida, in particular, was invested in the race.

Bruce Toll, the co-founder of Toll Brothers, gave Cornyn $6,000 last year. Steve Wynn, founder of Wynn Resorts, donated to Cornyn last October, and NVR founder Dwight Schar donated to the incumbent in November. Frank Fertitta, former Ultimate Fighting Championship owner, chipped in $3,500 for Cornyn, as previously reported in TRD.

While Paxton had support from South Florida, the numbers paled compared to Cornyn’s donations. In April, Paxton reported 14 donations from South Florida Metros, Cornyn reported 43.

— Hunter Cooke