Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) lost his bid for reelection in the primary runoff to Attorney General Ken Paxton, who secured a zero-hour endorsement from President Trump. Cornyn has been licking his wounds, and now one of his staff has pulled the ultimate Benedict Arnold move: he joined the James Talarico campaign. I’m not kidding.
This person deserves to be taken to the woodshed, but more to the point, it shows how Republicans of this stripe are really Democrats at heart. No true Republican does this. No conservative does this — there is nothing in the Talarico platform that could induce cross-party voting. Sorry, those who do are spineless moderates who should be purged from the party entirely. Oh, and the kid’s statement confirming his switch is even worse (via NOTUS):
One of many reasons Cornyn deserved to lose https://t.co/tTddPH0Axc
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) August 17, 2026
James Talarico lands a Republican defection, hiring former John Cornyn aide Jacob Smith as deputy political director, who urged Republicans to reject the “unfit” Ken Paxton. pic.twitter.com/I4xo0VtgEx
— Political Polls (@PpollingNumbers) August 17, 2026
SCOOP: James Talarico's campaign has hired a new deputy political director
— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) August 17, 2026
It's Jacob Smith, a leg aide for John Cornyn
"That is unheard of," one GOP operative said of the hire
w/ legends @reesejgorman @alweaver22 https://t.co/A3gie7TXmU
Cornyn's long-time staffer is now working for Talerico? https://t.co/SRNtfJYkNV
— L A R R Y (@LarryOConnor) August 17, 2026
Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico’s campaign hired a staffer from Republican Sen. John Cornyn, NOTUS has learned.
Jacob Smith, who worked for Cornyn for five years as a deputy legislative director and policy adviser, is taking on the role of deputy policy director for Talarico’s campaign.
“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 confirmed in a statement through the Talarico campaign. “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. In the Senate, James will fight to lower costs for all 31 million Texans, whether they’re Republicans, Democrats, or independents, so that Texans of all ages have a fighting chance at the American Dream of starting a family, owning a home, and leaving a little behind for their children.”
Yeah, it’s this crap that makes me chuckle. It’s so transparent. Dude, this guy isn’t some moderate, bipartisan vessel. The ‘do good’ line is laughable. You’re just pissed that this guy didn’t have the moxie to cross the finish line. Hey, maybe betraying us on gun rights in 2022 was a bad idea — just saying.
These aren’t Republicans, folks. These are traitors. It’s the lizard people, and they need to be taken behind the barn.
‘I’m proud to be working for a man who opposes everything I stand for, but I’m mad, so I’ll whore out for a Democrat who will kick me off the ledge if he wins’ is quite a swampy move. The good thing is Paxton will win by six or more, so it won’t matter.
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