gilmermirror.com: https://www.gilmermirror.com/2026/05/20/texas-gop-senate-runoff-pits-an-old-guard-backed-institutionalist-against-a-trump-picked-flamethrower/

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Texas’ GOP Senate runoff pits an old guard-backed institutionalist against a Trump-picked flamethrower – The Gilmer Mirror Skip to content Breaking News JIM "PAPPY" MOORE: A Savings State of Mind Video: Gilmer High School Graduation - 2026 East Texans for Liberty holds Annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Dinner Historic Upshur Museum presents Sam Houston: Texas Icon Texas Weekly Gas Price Update Contact Us E-Edition Subscribe Archives Twitter Email Menu Home News Sports Obituaries E-Edition Subscribe Photos Events Crossword Regional News Texas News Gilmer Buckeyes News Gilmer News Church Directory Classifieds Public Notices | logout Texas’ GOP Senate runoff pits an old guard-backed institutionalist against a Trump-picked flamethrower By Editor | May 20, 2026 | 0 By Gabby Birenbaum, The Texas Tribune May 20, 2026 WASHINGTON — When Michael Burgess first ran for Congress in 2002, his name was sandwiched between two now-familiar politicians on the Republican ballot. Above him was John Cornyn , making his first bid for U.S. Senate. Further down was Ken Paxton , a then first-time candidate running for the state House in Collin County. All three won those initial races in a landmark year for the Texas GOP, when the party established the trifecta control of Austin it’s maintained ever since. Twenty-four years later, Cornyn and Paxton are on a collision course, battling in an ugly runoff to be the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate seat Cornyn has occupied for over two decades. Burgess, a Lewisville Republican and affable policy wonk, retired at the end of 2024. Having observed both for decades, he’s backing Cornyn. “Who’s a better person to help [the Trump administration] — someone who’s seen as a steady hand and has been there and understands how things work and how things don’t work?” Burgess said in an interview last week. “Or someone who’s going to come in and [say] let’s blow it all up and then see what we can deal with at the end? There is a need for disruptors in our system, and we have disruptors in our system. But we can’t all be disruptors. Some of us have to be builders.” Trump himself disagrees. The president endorsed Paxton Tuesday, expressly citing the attorney general’s willingness to disrupt convention. Paxton, Trump said, “is a Strong Supporter of TERMINATING THE FILIBUSTER”. He is a “Fighter, and knows how to WIN” and, critically, “someone who has always been extremely loyal to me and our AMAZING MAGA MOVEMENT.” The May 26 runoff will be the most consequential trial yet for the values championed by the older GOP set — statesmanship, Washington knowhow, dealmaking, personal character — set against the brash, battle-centric, maximum warfare approach, marked by a willingness to cull their own ranks and demand absolutely loyalty, favored by Trump and supporters of Paxton. Burgess is part of the GOP’s establishment old guard that has gone to bat for Cornyn, in defiance of much of the MAGA base, emphasizing the elements of t

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• texastribune.org: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/05/20/texas-us-senate-gop-runoff-cornyn-paxton-old-guard-trump/ 2026-05-20