Ken Paxton defeated Sen. John Cornyn in the Texas Senate GOP primary runoff on a Tuesday. Trump endorsed Paxton in the final hour before the election. Cornyn had shared the frog-and-scorpion fable on social media following the result.
No left-leaning sources covered this
“Cornyn shares fable of frog and scorpion after Trump sinks reelection”
Read at The Hill →“Sting in the tale: Cornyn gets philosophical after blowout loss to Paxton”
Read at Washington Examiner →Trump's endorsement and Paxton's 28-point win show personal loyalty tests purging even high-alignment Republicans like Cornyn.
“Party transformation into personalist vehicle and entrenchment of election denialism”
Cornyn's defeat followed his break with Trump over 2024 candidacy despite 99.3 percent alignment.
“Voters enforcing reciprocity and accountability over tenure or institutional caution”
Primary voters punished conditional loyalty, favoring direct choice over long-term entrenchment.
“Decentralized accountability mechanisms and limits of transactional politics”
All views overemphasize loyalty framing while ignoring turnout, candidate baggage, and possible policy grievances.
“Low-information contest shaped by timing rather than clean ideological verdict”
Ratings by MBFC