Paxton, Bush Headed To Runoff For Republican Bid For Texas AG

AUSTIN, TX — An endorsement from former President Donald Trump and consistent support of several new divisive laws were not enough for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to avoid a runoff in the Republican primary.

Paxton and Texas Land Commissioner will advance to a runoff after Paxton failed to get more than 50 percent of the vote in Tuesday's primary, according to the Associated Press. CNN and The Houston Chronicle also are calling a runoff for the Republican bid for attorney general.

Paxton faced several strong challengers in Bush, Rep. Louie Gohmert and former Texas Supreme Court judge Eva Guzman. With 100 percent of counties reporting, as well as 96 percent of polling places, Paxton had under 43 percent of the vote as of Wednesday morning.

Bush, the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, is likely to emerge as Paxton's challenger in the runoff as he holds 22.82 percent of the vote, a moderate lead over Guzman (17.47 percent) and Gohmert (17.06 percent).

Paxton's inability to avoid a runoff comes as he faces securities fraud charges and an FBI investigation into corruption allegations. He has denied wrongdoing, but his challengers have used the accusations to advocate for a new person in the office.

Bush announced his intent to move forward with the runoff on his campaign Facebook account Wednesday morning, alluding to Paxton's legal troubles and accusing him of corruption and abuse of office.

"Ken Paxton, I look forward to holding you accountable to Texans for your crimes," Bush said in his runoff announcement. "It’s time for the next generation of conservative leadership."

Official election results could be delayed as Harris County election officials told Texas Secretary of State John B. Scott that they will not be able to report results from all early and Election Day ballots within the required 24-hour period after polls closed at 7 p.m. Tuesday, according to a Tuesday news release from the Secretary of State Office.

Harris County election officials said the delay in results is because of damaged ballots that must be reproduced before they are counted and reported, Scott said in the statement.