Senate Control Rides On Paxton, Texas’ Flawed GOP Pick
Left, Right & Center
KCRW
3.9 • 5K Ratings
🗓️ 29 May 2026
⏱️ 50 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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Texas Republicans are pinning their hopes on Senate candidate Ken Paxton, the state attorney general who was impeached for abusing his office. Maine Democrats are pinning theirs on Graham Platner, who’s had to explain an old tattoo that looks like a Nazi symbol. Welcome to the 2026 installment of the race to control the U.S. Senate.
Pope Leo used his platform to warn about the dangers of A.I. It’s a big topic here in the U.S., but neither the Trump White House nor Congress seem eager to do much.
Plus, a listener incensed over taxpayer dollars being used for Trump’s “Anti-Weaponization Fund” asks what he should do with his anger.
Producer: Leo Duran
Host: David Greene
Guests:
- Mo Elleithee, executive director at Georgetown University's Institute of Politics and Public Service - @MoElleithee
- Sarah Isgur, senior editor at The Dispatch - @whignewtons
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to left, right, and center, everybody. I am David Green. I think it's safe to say everything |
| 0:05.6 | is bigger in Texas, even the blowouts. To the people in this room, to the people watching at home, |
| 0:12.4 | and to the people of the great state of Texas, tonight we just made history. |
| 0:17.9 | That is the voice of Ken Paxton declaring victory in the Republican Senate primary in Texas. |
| 0:23.9 | He beat 23-year incumbent John Cornyn by an almost two to one margin. |
| 0:29.7 | And he said it is all, all, thanks to an 11th hour endorsement from President Trump. |
| 0:35.1 | When everyone in Washington told him to abandon me and abandon the people of Texas, he didn't listen. |
| 0:40.5 | Instead, he gave his complete and total endorsement. |
| 0:43.8 | President Trump is the leader of our party, and his endorsement is the most powerful force in politics. |
| 0:49.8 | But is President Trump's backing powerful enough for Republicans to hold onto this Senate seat in November? |
| 0:56.1 | Republicans desperately want to keep their narrow majority in the Senate. |
| 1:00.1 | Could Paxton make it harder than if the party, say, had stuck with a veteran incumbent like John Cornyn? |
| 1:05.8 | As we'll talk about the GOP, not the only party, taking some risky bets like this, maybe against better judgment. |
| 1:12.5 | Moelethy and Sarah Isker are both here. |
| 1:14.5 | And Sarah, I want to start with you because Texas is your home state. |
| 1:18.9 | And you once worked for John Cornyn, right, early on in his political career? |
| 1:24.8 | His first Senate race was my first set of race, 2002. |
| 1:27.9 | And yes, this is obviously the end of an era for Texas. |
| 1:33.7 | This was a blowout of a primary. |
| 1:36.4 | And Democrats are hanging their hopes on Tala Rico, the Democratic nominee. |
| 1:41.9 | In terms of whether, though, he has a real shot of winning, I think there are several steps left because the Democrats have several problems. |
| 1:51.8 | He has been caricatured by the right already. I think he's going to have to overcome that caricature. |
... |
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