Republicans risk giving Democrats a rare opening in deep-red Texas if they choose a scandal-scarred nominee in the states high-stakes Senate race, Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume warned this week.
According to Conservative Daily News, Hume raised the alarm during a segment on Foxs Special Report, where he weighed the implications of Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxtons surge in the three-way GOP Senate primary. Paxton has vaulted ahead of longtime Republican Sen. John Cornyn, a fixture of the party establishment, but his rise comes with significant political baggage that Democrats are eager to exploit in a state they have long targeted.
I think that he [Paxton] is a controversial figure. Hes been both indicted and impeached on separate issues, Hume said, underscoring the vulnerabilities that could shadow Paxton in a general election. And while hes survived both of those things, his background might be fertile territory for Democrats trying to beat him if he was a general election candidate, so thats a race to really watch.
Host Bret Baier emphasized that Democrats have spent years trying to flip Texas, a conservative stronghold whose electoral votes are central to any Republican path to the White House. The Attorney General Paxton and there you see Wesley Hunt as well in that race. Democrats do have this aspiration, and they have, for some time, to turn Texas blue, Baier said, framing the primary as a potential turning point.
Hume suggested that Democratic prospects could hinge on whether they nominate a compelling challenger capable of capitalizing on GOP missteps. Well, if Talarico wins, hes a very articulate young man, Hume said. A talented young man. He is a fairly promising candidate, and Democrats have dreamed, as you say, Bret, that they can somehow turn the state of Texas blue. It could happen, I suppose.
From a strategic standpoint, Hume argued that Cornyn remains the GOPs safest bet in a statewide contest, even if grassroots conservatives are gravitating toward Paxton. The Republicans do have some issues here because John Cornyn, the incumbent, would, you know, its fair to argue, I think, that he would be the strongest general election candidate. But at the moment he is trailing in the polls and has been for some time. And the leading guy, leading the polls, Ken Paxton, is adored by a lot of Trump supporters and the MAGA wing of the Republican Party, Hume said, highlighting the tension between electability and populist appeal.
Paxtons legal history remains central to that debate, with Texas legislators in 2023 accusing him of years-long alleged misconduct, including using his office to improperly benefit a campaign donor. The Texas House of Representatives approved 20 articles of impeachment alleging bribery, dereliction of duty and obstruction of justice, but Paxton was ultimately acquitted by the state Senate later that year, a result that energized many of President Trumps supporters.
A separate federal probe into whether Paxton abused his office over those same allegations quietly ended when the Justice Department, under President Joe Biden, declined to prosecute in the administrations final weeks. For conservatives, the Texas Senate race now poses a familiar dilemma: rally behind a combative, MAGA-aligned figure who excites the base but invites Democratic attacks, or consolidate around a more conventional Republican like Cornyn, whose steadier profile may better safeguard a critical seat in a state Democrats are desperate to claim.
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