Ken Paxton has a new problem in his Texas Senate race, and this one knows the Republican playbook from the inside.
Jacob Smith, a longtime Republican staffer and former deputy legislative director to Sen. John Cornyn, has crossed party lines to join James Talarico’s Democratic Senate campaign, NOTUS first reported.
Smith will serve as Talarico’s deputy policy director, helping the Democrat take on Paxton in a race Republicans once might have expected to cruise through.
Now it’s getting much more interesting.
“I’ve worked for Republicans like Senator Cornyn my entire career, but this year I’m proud to be joining James Talarico’s campaign,” Smith said.
His explanation was blunt.
“Instead of playing partisan politics, Talarico speaks to the needs of everyday people who day in and day out work too hard for too little.”
Smith’s defection comes after a brutal Republican primary that ended Cornyn’s bid for another Senate term.
Paxton crushed the longtime senator by nearly 28 points, sending Cornyn out of the race for the seat he had held since 2002.
Despite that humiliating defeat, Cornyn has said he will still support Paxton in November.
“I’ve always supported the Republican ticket, and I intend to do so again in this general election,” Cornyn said.
His former aide has taken a very different path.
Rather than helping Paxton win the seat, Smith is now working directly for the Democrat trying to take it from him.
That’s a pretty significant political defection.
Paxton has plenty of baggage
Paxton enters the general election with a long record of political and legal controversies.
As Texas attorney general, he was indicted on securities-fraud charges after being accused of misleading investors. The charges were ultimately dropped after Paxton agreed to conditions that included performing 100 hours of community service.
His personal life has also become a political issue.
His wife, Angela Paxton, filed for divorce last year, citing “biblical grounds” and “recent discoveries.”
And during the Republican primary, Paxton’s close alliance with President Donald Trump helped distinguish him from Cornyn, who represented the more traditional Republican establishment.
Smith clearly isn’t a fan. He described Paxton as “the most corrupt, self-dealing politician in Texas who would sell their futures to the highest contributor just to hold onto power.”
Talarico sees an opening
For decades, Texas has been one of the safest states in the country for Republicans.
A Democrat hasn’t won a U.S. Senate race there in nearly 40 years.
But Talarico is trying to change that.
The state representative has built his campaign around issues including corruption and economic concerns, while presenting himself as an alternative to the political establishment.
And the race is already attracting national attention because a Democratic victory could help determine control of the Senate.
Recent polling suggests Talarico has a real opening.
A Fox News poll last month showed him leading Paxton 51% to 48%.
That’s hardly a comfortable position for a Republican in Texas.
Smith’s decision doesn’t mean Texas is suddenly turning blue.
Republicans still have enormous advantages in the state, and Paxton remains the favorite in a race that Democrats have historically had little chance of winning.
But political defections matter, especially when they come from people who spent years working inside the opposing party.
Smith knows how Republican Senate offices operate. He knows the issues. He knows the political machinery.
And now he’s using that experience to help a Democrat defeat the Republican nominee.
For Paxton, that’s one more headache in a race that Republicans expected to be much easier.
