Hour 3 - GOP Senate Battle in Texas

Summary

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show – Hour 3

Episode Theme & Purpose (May 26, 2026)

In this hour, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton analyze the high-profile GOP Senate runoff in Texas between incumbent Senator John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, exploring its implications for the Republican Party, the role of Trump endorsements, and the broader political landscape. They also discuss the likely outcomes for the general election, examine parallel Senate races (notably in Maine and Georgia), touch on Democratic fundraising strategy, and answer questions about oil prices. The segment is marked by humor, candid opinions, and a focus on both the mechanics and personalities affecting major 2026 Senate races.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Texas GOP Senate Runoff: Cornyn vs. Paxton

• Background & Stakes
  • Cornyn and Paxton are locked in an expensive and high-visibility primary, drawing national attention because of the role of Trump and the apparent intra-GOP split (MAGA vs. establishment).
  • Over $150 million has been spent on the primary, mostly against Paxton.
• Hosts’ Approach
  • Travis and Sexton emphasize that they do not endorse in Republican primaries, aiming for a neutral platform (“we’re not going to put our thumb on the scale for either one here” — Buck Sexton, 03:22).
  • Both Paxton and Cornyn were given airtime to make their case to listeners.

Notable Quote

“It's a big primary — MAGA and Trump really squaring off here with a more old establishment GOP. At least that's the way it’s being framed.”
— Buck Sexton (04:09)

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2. The Role and Weight of Trump’s Endorsement

• Fox’s Brit Hume is cited as noting how powerful a Trump endorsement is in GOP primaries.
• Discussion centers on why Trump would endorse Paxton over Cornyn, despite Cornyn voting with Trump 99.3% of the time and his record of supporting Trump's agenda.
• Both hosts speculate that Trump’s frustrations are with the US Senate as a body, not Cornyn personally.

Notable Quote

“I don't think anybody could be more supportive than I’ve been of President Trump. … I voted with him 99.3% of the time. To me, that's pretty fulsome support.”
— Sen. John Cornyn (28:24)

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3. Electability in the General Election

• Both hosts argue that either Cornyn or Paxton, if nominated, will decisively beat Democrat James Talarico.
  • Democrats are expected to overspend in Texas, repeating a familiar (and losing) cycle from past years.
  • Travis predicts a six- to seven-point GOP victory regardless of nominee (09:58).

Notable Quote

“Either Paxton or Cornyn is going to win comfortably. … Ken Paxton is suddenly going to lose to Talarico? 0% chance, in my opinion, of that happening.”
— Clay Travis (06:06)

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4. The Democratic Challenge: James Talarico

• Talarico is portrayed as out of step with Texas, leaning into progressive culture-war battles and being described by Travis as “weird” and not “reflective of normal Texans” (07:54).
• The Democratic fundraising model — pouring money into red states and losing — is called out for futility.

Notable Quote

"This dude is just weird and he's not reflective of normal Texans. And it's not going to be particularly close."
— Clay Travis (07:54)

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5. Senate Races Beyond Texas: Maine, Georgia, Miscellaneous

• Maine: Incumbent Republican Susan Collins is credited with strong bipartisan appeal and is favored to defeat Democrat Graham Platner, a candidate increasingly mired in controversy (including, per hosts, a “Nazi tattoo”).
• Georgia remains a perennial worry for Republicans, who have struggled there in past cycles.
• Hosts note the polling inaccuracies and historical GOP resilience in states like Maine.
• Consistency of fundraising excess especially by Democrats in red state races is highlighted.

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6. Oil and Gas Prices: Listener Questions & Economic Framing

• Several listeners ask about why U.S. gas prices stay high despite domestic production, leading to a discussion of the global oil market and capitalism.
• A listener email from a retired oil executive explains that higher oil profits fund exploration and job creation, benefitting local economies and the government through taxes and royalties (39:57).

Notable Quote

“People in many ways judge the economy based on gas prices. … When you sit down and start to fill up your tank and it costs you substantially more than it used to, that is very, very frustrating. No matter who is in power, people get angry.”
— Clay Travis (41:34)

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Interview: Senator John Cornyn (24:33–33:45)

• Record and Loyalty

  • Cornyn points to his strong, tangible support of Trump’s agenda, including judicial confirmations and tax reform.
  • He argues that his proven statewide electability makes him the safer choice against the Democrat in November.

• Party Unity

  • Cornyn pledges to support Paxton if Paxton wins and expects reciprocal support; stresses importance of party unity to prevent a Democratic Senate seat flip in Texas.

Notable Quotes

“I have spent the last 30 years or so building the Republican Party in Texas and helping build the Republican majority in the U.S. Senate.”
— Sen. John Cornyn (26:37)

“If Ken Paxton is a nominee, he puts this Senate seat at risk…if he happens to win by the skin of his teeth, he will not provide the cushion and the margin and the uplift that I would.”
— Sen. John Cornyn (29:48)

• Trump’s Endorsement
  • Cornyn addresses Trump’s charge that he’s “disloyal” and disputes it, stating he’s co-sponsored key Trump initiatives and would be open to filibuster reform to pass MAGA priorities.

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Humorous & Memorable Moments

• The lampooning of Democrats’ fundraising (09:58), Texas’ “culture warriors,” and skepticism of the polling industry.
• Satirical Bible references about Texas Democrats and gender issues (08:38).
• Both hosts regularly make playful asides about previous campaign cycles ("Are we there yet?").

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Key Timestamps

• 02:36 – Show kicks off analysis of Texas Senate primary
• 06:06 – Travis confidently predicts GOP general election win in Texas
• 09:58 – On “Democrats lighting money on fire” in red state races
• 11:58 – Analysis of the Maine Senate race, Democratic controversies
• 24:33–33:45 – Interview with Senator John Cornyn
• 37:59 – Recap and explanation of oil/gas price dynamics

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Summary Flow: The Takeaways

• The Texas Senate primary is a high-stakes test of Trump’s influence and the MAGA–establishment divide in one of the GOP’s most important strongholds.
• Hosts believe the Democratic challenger is a non-threat, with Texas likely to stay safely red in 2026, regardless of nominee.
• Cornyn strongly defends his conservative record and loyalty to Trump but argues he is the better general election choice due to Paxton’s scandals.
• The hosts provide historical and cross-state context, discussing Republican prospects in Maine, Georgia, and Michigan, and highlighting the cycle of overconfident Democratic fundraising in red states.
• A lively exchange with listeners keeps the focus on economic concerns, especially oil and gas prices, grounding the political conversation in issues directly affecting voters.

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For Listeners:
This episode dives deep into the complexities of Senate primaries, explains the function and power of Trump’s endorsements, explores candidate electability, spotlights notable down-ballot dynamics, and demystifies global oil pricing – all delivered in the show’s signature conversational, slightly irreverent tone.

Transcript

[Buck Sexton]

This is an iHeart podcast.

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[Clay Travis]

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[Buck Sexton]

Buck kicks off right now and we have at the bottom of this hour Senator Cornyn will be with us of Texas. He is running in Texas. He wants to keep that Senate seat. And he is in a primary today against Ken Paxton, the attorney General. Oh yeah, I had read over a hundred million. Interesting that AG Paxton wanted us to know. More like a hundred. It is over 100, but it's like 150 million in that primary, which is a lot of money. So we shall see.

[Clay Travis]

And where almost all of that spent against him, which is the other part that he wanted us to know. Like he spent a fraction of the money that was against him, which we'll ask John Cornyn about as well.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, here's a couple of things and I just want to be clear, guys. I think we don't endorse in primaries. As you know, it is a rule, no matter how much pressure we get sometimes from some, we do not endorse in primaries on the Republican side. We let people have their say, but we will give people the platform. We'll ask them questions. We'll let them come here into the House that Rush built and make their case to you as, as they, as they can, as they will. And so we, in fairness, of course, are we invited on Paxton and Cornyn? And so we had Paxton on. You heard from him. If you missed that, I might add. Go back to the first hour of the show and the podcast and listen. But don't expect either of them to come on here and get some kind of an ambush or we're going to ask them to make it's up to what you, the Texans in our audience and I know a lot of other people are just interested across the country. It's a big primary MAGA and Trump really squaring off here with a more old establishment gop. At least that's the way it's being framed by people. Some people, some people are saying. So that's I think important to keep in mind. So we will have Cornyn on and we'll ask him questions and we'll let him have his say. We're not going to put our thumb on the scale for either one here. It's up to you, the Texans in the audience. Okay. Couple of, couple of analysts. Well, one analyst here. And then we'll hear from Cordon briefly. Clay, this is real seems to be the primary push and Paxton said that this is just, it is what it is. It's just dust in our eyes. It's nonsense because they can't get him on a lack of commitment to the maga. Cause they can't attack his time as ag, the accomplishments he had. So they say he has baggage. Brit Hume of Fox, who's a very, very astute guy. He here he is saying this. This is cut 8. An endorsement by the president has repeatedly proved to be a real leg up in these primaries.

[Clay Travis]

This is an interesting case because Coryn

[Buck Sexton]

really hasn't been an opponent of the president in any meaningful sense. I mean, the soundbite you played from Paxton pointed in that direction, but by and large, he's been an ally of the president. It's not entirely clear to me why he chose Paxton anyway. Paxton has a ton of baggage. Likely Democratic nominee does, too. But I think, you know, the widespread feeling is that the race is safer for the Republicans if Cornyn is able to win against the headwind of a presidential endorsement for the other guy. Clay, can I just say, he's got so much baggage. Why is he a successful attorney general for the state of Texas? Right. It's not like he's, you know, been selling used lawnmowers on the side and all of a sudden he's deciding. I mean, the guy has been ag for how many years now and seems to have done a, a very competent job in that role. What do you make of it?

[Clay Travis]

He's going to win and he's going to win by a comfortable margin. And I put my money on it. I look, everybody go vote. Either Paxton or Cornyn is going to be the nominee tomorrow. We come on the program and either Ken Paxton or John Cornyn is going to smoke James Talarico. And I think that anybody out there that is arguing otherwise is being taken advantage of. And I put my money where my mouth is. You can go look at prediction markets when it comes to politics and you can make your own forecast instead of just saying what you think. Put your own money on it. And I think that either Paxton or Cornyn, the Republican candidate, is going to win comfortably. And to your point, Buck, I don't buy the Ken Paxton. Oh, he's unelected. He's been elected statewide in Texas for significant office for he's never lost an election in his whole career. And you're going to tell me that Ken Paxton is suddenly going to lose to tall Rico? 0% chance, in my opinion of that happening. 0. Now, if I'm wrong, we'll clip this, we'll come back and I'll say I was wrong. I feel the same way about John Cornyn. If John Cornyn is the nominee, he is going to beat James Talarico. I think that Texas Democrats had their best possible candidate in Beto. I think Beto was the Perfect candidate in 2018. Am I right about it? Was it 2018 that Beto was running? I can't even remember exactly 2022. What year was Beto running against Ted Cruz?

[Buck Sexton]

I.

[Clay Travis]

In the center. 18. Right.

[Buck Sexton]

Because it was like, so important because

[Clay Travis]

Beto was going to just, like, take

[Buck Sexton]

your AR15s away and change the whole country.

[Clay Travis]

And Beto couldn't get past Ted Cruz. So that was the best that Texas is going to have, I think, as a Democrat candidate, because they were able to convince you that Beto was a moderate. This guy's hell, Rico. When they start running the goddess that have a gender, there are six genders. And I. This dude is just weird and he's not reflective of normal Texans. And it's not going to be particularly close. I don't think so. I feel again, yeah, it was 2018 when we had the whole Beto versus Ted Cruz. What did Ted Cruz win in 2026 or 2024 by, like 14 points?

[Buck Sexton]

There's this guy, Talarico, and you're like. He's like, hey, so you know what Jesus really wanted was to just accept everyone's choices of all kinds. And if somebody wants to be a furry and have you pretend that they're actually a mountain lion, then that's what the Lord would have wanted. That's what the Good Book. It's like, no, Mr. Talarico, that is not. That is not what anybody who is in touch with the scripture believes is meant by this. I don't think the ZZ pronouns are, in fact, a biblical requirement. And by the way, I would wonder what Talarico really thinks somebody should ask him. Because as a Democrat, you have to be pro abortion.

[Senator John Cornyn]

Not.

[Buck Sexton]

Not. You don't have to be open to the idea, but you have to be pro. More abortion is better. That's what Democrats actually believe. And I wonder what he thinks the Bible says about that. There's a whole bunch of things. Clay, to your point, it's almost not worth too much time on Talarico because I think he is just going to get absolutely crushed. But we got to see this thing through. And I do believe that the. One of the reasons they've had such trouble pushing against Paxton on this and saying that it's going to be so hard for him to win is I think Paxton's going to kick his ass if he's the nominee. We'll talk to Cornyn in just a few minutes here about whether he should be the nominee.

[Clay Travis]

I will say, Buck, that Democrats have proved adept at raising hundreds of millions of dollars in races like these and just lighting the money on fire. I mean, you go back and look, they, every time in these red states, they convince themselves. I mean, remember, was it Jamie Harrison? Didn't he raise over $100 million against Lindsey Graham in South Carolina Team look that up and Lindsey Graham won by 10. There is at some point, and I don't know what the exact dollar figure is, but at some point the dollar stopped working because you bought every commercial ad you can and people just tune them out. So Democrats will raise a hundred million dollars. They'll convince everybody that James Talarico is going to win and then he's going to lose by about seven points. That's my prediction. When all the voting is done, he's going to lose by about six or seven points and then they'll go through the same cycle in two more years. Um, and I just, I don't think this race is going to be particularly close now. The, the race that I think is actually getting the most intriguing, that is going to be a battleground right now is Maine because Graham Platner is a crazy person and Democrats have they. The Janet Mills, the governor of, of Maine has been kicked to the curb. Graham Platner is going to be the nominee. And Buck, he has all sorts of awful comments in his past history that they keep uncovering and Reddit threads, by the way, how weird is it to just obsessively post on Reddit? Like that's a weird thing to do. In the first place, this isn't his Twitter feed or some. He was anonymously posting on Reddit message boards all the time. Candidly, I'm just gonna say that's a weird thing to do. Like not even under his own name. Like who knows what he actually has said on Twitter.

[Buck Sexton]

It's, it does seem to me that people recognize that Collins is about as good as you're gonna get for the GOP in Maine. And now that is, this is, this is the, the two sided coin here that is frustrating when you want, you know, that last critical vote for a MAGA agenda item. Although, although she does go sometimes, but on some things she's not rock solid. It's frustrating. Then it's less frustrating. I think, Clay, when you have a multiple term incumbent who knows the game, knows the scene, plays to the middle, because she does play to the middle and you know, she's, she's formidable too. So to your point, yeah, the platinum thing I, I think is interesting, but when it comes to election Time in Maine, I think you look at Collins and you're like, oh, well, it's good. It's good we got her running there. She's not some, you know, firebrand. Cause Maine, I think, didn't. Kamala. Kamala won Maine by seven points in 2024. Is that right?

[Clay Travis]

I thought it was around five, but she. Yeah, I mean, Susan Collins, honestly, I had forgotten that.

[Buck Sexton]

Guys, think about that for a sec. We got a Republican senator in a state that Kamala. Even if it's five, that's a solid. I think it was, you know, six or seven, but that's a solid win for that. For the.

[Clay Travis]

Everybody thought Susan Collins was done for in 2022. I don't think she led in any poll in all of Maine for the entire 2022. Sorry, 2020 cycle. They all said she got drastically outspent. She won comfortably. So I think Susan Collins is going to win in Maine. If Susan Collins wins in Maine, there is no chance that Republicans are going to lose the. The election.

[Buck Sexton]

By the way, people talk about AI and everything, our. Our stat game here, folks. And also, as we do more video and stuff, we'll be able to throw this on the screens for you guys. We can pull up anything in real time now on the show. It's. It's. It's pretty incredible, the research capabilities we have. I'm obviously getting poll numbers or getting votes is not that hard, but if I wanted to pull any number of things, we can do this for you in real time and really get deep into the substance. But, yeah, Clay, it was 7%. Kamala Harris v. Donald Trump in 2024. 7% win for Kamala. And no surprise, it's just all of. All the precincts that go for Kamala are the blue, denser precincts along. Along the coast. So that is what happened in that state. So for us to be able to have a Republican senator from a solidly blue is really a blue state. I mean, it's. You could say it's purple, but it's like purple blue collar. Collins is. Is a. Is like I said, it's basically as good as it's going to get for us there. This platinum guy obviously has some real challenges. So I think that. Are you. Are you looking at this one? The one that I'm concerned we're going to screw up is Georgia somehow, just because we always seem to. We always seem to screw up Georgia. Okay. I don't know what we got to do to get that one right.

[Clay Travis]

Georgia is, to me, a house money situation. Because we've screwed up three consecutive. So if you win Georgia, that's just gravy. Michigan is gravy. Because those are Democrat incumbent seats. To me, if you can win one of Maine or North Carolina, this thing is over. And I'm looking at the Data on the 2020 election. Everybody wrote Susan Collins off. They spent tons of money against her, ran this woman, Sarah Gideon, and Susan Collins won by nine points and she was never ahead in any polling. Everybody thought she was going to lose. She won comfortably. I think she's going to beat Graham Platner. And I think Graham Platner is slowly starting to implode. And even a Democrat congressman in Massachusetts said, this is the guy with the Nazi tattoo on his chest. An actual Nazi tattoo. Like this is kind of crazy. Like it's like a made up story. He has a Nazi tattoo on his chest.

[Buck Sexton]

It is indicative of the double standard that is so present all the time with media and Democrats and everything. If there was a Republican who was running for condo board somewhere, name the place, and he had a Nazi tattoo, the New York Times would have front page articles about how the GOP is going full fascist. Because the condo board election in Boca has a guy with a Nazi tattoo on his chest. Like they would never stop talking about it. For Democrats, it's like, yeah, people make mistakes. Nazi tattoo on his chest, big deal.

[Clay Travis]

Also, they would ask every Republican every day about the guy with the Nazi tattoo on his chest to ensure that the story never left.

[Buck Sexton]

Oh, do you disavow?

[Clay Travis]

Of course. Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

Do you, do you running for governor of Idaho? Do you disavow the Republican in Maine with a Nazi tattoo on his chest? Or you know, the guy's right, of course, this is what they do all that. This is the only reason David Duke existed in media for the last 30 something years, was so whenever a Republican runs for president, you can have like George Stephanopoulos, sir, will you disavow David Duke? It's like, what, what does this have to do with anything? But we all know, we all know the game that they play. So we just walk you through before the economics of say if you were, if you're selling oil, it's gas, oil, it's a global market, right? And that's the truth of it. And so what happens around the world affects the price. That's true of gold as well. And that's why the overall thesis that gold is going to grow in value as it is a hedge against inflation and central banks are buying it up and there's Currency debasing that's happening makes a lot of sense. Gold has become for so many Americans an important savings and investment tool. So if you've been thinking about getting gold for years, but have never move some of your savings into physical gold, Birch Gold Group is who I trust to help you through this Friday. Birch gold is giving first time gold buyers a rebate of up to $10,000 on qualifying purchases. For details and a free information kit on diversifying into gold, text my name buck to the number 9898 98. Text Buck to 989898 if you qualify for a first time gold buyer rebate of up to $10,000, check it out. Text Buck to 989898 Level up your brain.

[Clay Travis]

Mental mugging with clay and buck support

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[Clay Travis]

Real value

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[Clay Travis]

Let's try to get some of these calls. Jamie in Idaho.

[Buck Sexton]

Jamie, what you got Going once, going twice.

[Clay Travis]

All right, John in Sacramento.

[Senator John Cornyn]

Sam, hey, we talk like six weeks ago. My daughter was 15 year old freshman here in Sacramento and she was lucky enough to go to the big national Arcadia Nike tournament track tournament in L. A And she watched that boy win three titles there that day. And then we talked about him this week. So this past weekend he just won the Southern section titles and long jump, triple jump and high jump again. And he's going to be running this weekend or jumping this weekend again for his fifth, sixth, fourth, fifth and sixth state titles again. So I just want to keep it on your radar. I know, Clay, you talk about it a lot and it's been really a.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, yeah. We're going to continue to talk about this. In fact, guys, roll over Tom Steyer because we'll have a little conversation about this as the California governor primary gets closer. Tom Steyer, who is one of the top candidates for Democrats, said he supports, directly supports boys being able to compete in girl sports. Just like in particular this guy, this dude in California who's going to win multiple girls state championships. It's insane. I was on Fox News talking about it earlier today reacting to the Tom Steyer bit. It's, it's crazy. This is where we are.

[Buck Sexton]

It is indeed. We have, do we have Jamie in Idaho still?

[Senator John Cornyn]

Yes, I'm still here.

[Buck Sexton]

Go ahead, Jamie. You got about 15 seconds, though. I'm sorry, it's going to be tight. Go for it.

[Senator John Cornyn]

Okay.

[Clay Travis]

I just wondering when you keep telling

[Senator John Cornyn]

us we have all this oil available to us but yet the prices keep going up and why the strait of vermouth is affecting that.

[Buck Sexton]

I have no idea because you tell us we have all this Oil.

[Clay Travis]

And yet our gas prices keep going up.

[Buck Sexton]

We will address on the other side. Again, thank you for calling in, Jamie. Appreciate it. I love Ohio. Great state. I'm sorry, Idaho. Idaho, a great state. Ohio is cool too. Rapid radio is perfect for people who love staying connected, whether it's out on the lake or on the job site on a long car trip. Staying connected is key. These modern day walkie talkies, they work coast to coast with no range limits and no monthly bills. It's that simple. There's no complicated setup, no technical headaches. If you buy this for dad for Father's Day, he's gonna love it. He could turn them on and then start talking. And right now, for Father's Day, if you get over $300, you get rather over $300 in free gear with your order, including a tactical bag and an EMP Faraday bag. A great Father's Day gift. Everybody make it easy yourself. Just get them some rapid radios. Go to rapidradios.com you'll get free shipping from Michigan. Rapidradios.com the Father's Day gift that keeps you connected. Rapidradios.com rapid radios communication redefined. Welcome back into Clay and Buck. Senator Cornyn is with us now as promised. He is senator from the great state of Texas. He is in a primary today against his challenger, the AG Paxton. Senator, appreciate you making the time for us again, sir. Thanks. I want to let you make the best use of the time we're giving you here. We have a huge Texas audience. A lot of them are going to be going to vote today. And I want to hear from you. Why should you get another term in the United States Senate, sir?

[Senator John Cornyn]

Well, I think the simple reason is because I've been an effective supporter of President Trump's agenda for two terms, now helped him confirm hundreds of federal judges, including three Supreme Court justices, as the whip, the chief vote counter in his first term, we got the votes to pass the tax cuts and job act. And more recently, we were able to do the working family tax cuts bill. So on virtually all of the president's priorities, I've been able to help deliver for those. And I think the other part of it is has to do with if the attorney general is the nominee, he risks losing a very red state Senate seat because of all the personal baggage and scandal associated with his his candidacy. And we've got somebody who I believe is very dangerous, James Talarico. And while I think that somebody like me could exploit that his vulnerabilities in November, the Attorney general, with all the baggage he's got in a general election electorate with independents and Democrats participating in the process, he's going to have to spend most of his time trying to defend his. His. His record. So that's it. I want to win, and I want to help Trump finish his term out strong.

[Clay Travis]

We're talking to John Cornyn election. We encourage everybody to get out and vote today in Texas on the run. Tomorrow, one of you is going to be the nominee. And as you just said, you'll wake up and the pivot will move from the Republican primary to the general election coming in November. Uh, if you win, do you expect Ken Paxton to campaign for you? And second part of that question, if you lose, will you campaign for Ken Paxton? In other words, how does the Republican Party come together, regardless of who the nominee is? What do you expect by tomorrow the story to be?

[Senator John Cornyn]

Well, I've said that I will. I will support the ticket because I have spent the last 30 years or so building the Republican Party in Texas and helping build the Republican majority in the U.S. senate. And James Talarico, as I indicated, is a very dangerous candidate because the press is treating him kind of like Baked or Rourke and glorifying him as the. As a new kind of Democrat. Unfortunately, he's not a new type of Democrat. He's as radical as Bernie Sanders and aoc. But he does have this appearance that I think tends to make people think that he's not as big a threat as he truly is. So I think I could be a better candidate to defeat Talarico and help down valid as well. But, yeah, I'll support the ticket, and I, I believe Ken will support the ticket if I'm the nominee. And certainly our shared desire to make sure Talarico never darkens the hallways in the US Senate will, I think, unify the party.

[Buck Sexton]

So, as I'm sure you are no doubt handling this question on a regular basis, Senator Cornyn, but President Trump has, you know, you said you would stand with the Trump agenda. President Trump has endorsed your opponent. And my understanding is he has also had some words on this race, specifically that he has weighed in on. Why do you think that he endorsed Paxton? And what would you say to people who say, well, if Trump is the leader of MAGA and he goes for the guy running against you, wouldn't the other guy be the one more suited to the MAGA agenda in the Senate?

[Senator John Cornyn]

Well, I don't think anybody could be more supportive than I've been of President Trump. As I said, I voted with him 99.3% of the time. To me, that's, that's pretty fulsome support. And you know, I respect President Trump's right to weigh in, but I think it's not so much about me. It's not like Louisiana or Kentucky. I haven't done anything that should cause President Trump to come out and endorse against me. I think this has more to do with his frustration with the US Senate and the slow progress made on the Save America act of which, by the way, I'm a regional co sponsor and I support Mike Lee's talking filibuster idea. And I've said publicly that I am open to reform the filibuster if that's

[Buck Sexton]

what it takes, Senator, if I, if I can. Because you met, you mentioned this specifically. I just wanted to have you react to this. The President said on Truth Social just two days ago he wrote Ken's. Ken, meaning Ken Paxton's opponent, meaning you was very all caps disloyal to me as president and didn't fight hard enough for the desperately needed Save America Act. That's from the president. Is President Trump just is, is he mistaken on this one? Because that seems to be pretty, pretty pointed criticism.

[Senator John Cornyn]

Well, we are, I'm, we're still fighting on the Save America act that still has, is on the floor of the Senate. And what we are, what we need to do to get it passed is to get the votes. I can't force other senators to vote for something that I support, although I can try to persuade them. And I've been, as I've said, I don't know how much more supportive you could be than 99.3% of the time. And the question is, do we really want to win in Texas both at the top of the ticket in this race or and in down ballot in 2020? I, I won by 10 points and at a time when President Trump won by six. So I think I can actually help all the way up and down the ballot. If Ken Paxton is a nominee, he puts this Senate seat at risk, which again, we haven't elected the Democrats since 1994. And then also if he happens to win by the skin of his teeth, he will not provide the cushion and the margin and the uplift that I would in helping down ballot race, including the five new congressional seats that President Trump is depending on winning in order to prevent the Democrats from impeaching him for a third time.

[Clay Travis]

How will you spend primary election runoff and night? What is your plan for the rest of the day? And I know You've already made your case. But for people out there that might be listening in Texas and have not voted yet again, we always encourage everybody to go out and vote. What is. I understand electability. What else would you want them to know?

[Senator John Cornyn]

Well, unfortunately, we only had 11% of registered voters vote in the Republican primary, which has. We have 18.6 million registered voters, and three quarters of the registered voters in the state didn't vote in a primary at all. And one thing I think they should know is that if you didn't vote in a primary, you can still vote in this runoff. And I would certainly encourage him to do so, because in the end, the only thing that really counts is who. Who, who shows up and who gets the most votes. And I think that that's still very much up in the air.

[Buck Sexton]

Senator Paxton. I'm sorry, Pardon me, Senator Cornyn, your opponent is Ken Paxton. Tonight. People are going to be making their, their final determinations here, if they have not already voted in the last hours. I just wanted to give you the floor for one, for a minute, if you will, to make your case one more time to the people of Texas listening about why you and not the AG are the guy for the job.

[Senator John Cornyn]

Well, I believe I can help President Trump continue to pass his agenda in the remaining partner part of his second and help us keep the Senate majority and not spend hundreds of millions of dollars trying to save the Senate seat in here in Texas in the general election. That could be spent to pick up seats in Georgia, Michigan, and New Hampshire and to save the seat in North Carolina. That's not the case if it's my opponent. And I believe that this race is much more important than just about me. It's really important that we elect the majority in the Congress so we don't have to subject President Trump to a third impeachment, which Democrats are chomping at the bit to do if they get the majority in the House. And so not only can I help hold on to this red Senate seat, I can help all the candidates all the way up and down the ballot and then get to work again to continue to support President Trump and his agenda in the remaining years of his term.

[Clay Travis]

Senator Cornyn, we appreciate the time. Good luck tonight and good luck in the Senate, no matter what, as I know there's a lot of big issues to be decided in the months ahead.

[Senator John Cornyn]

Thank you so much.

[Clay Travis]

That is Senator John Cornyn of Texas. The primary runoff tonight today in the state of Texas for both Attorney General and the Republican Senate nominee, among others. There's also a bunch of congressional runoffs. So if you are listening to us in Texas, make sure that you get out. You just heard not a ton of people show up as a percentage of the overall electorate and get your ballots cast. Before we wrap up, let me remind you about a company here in Tennessee, my home state, doing great things for families all over the country. It's Legacy Box, the company that will digitally transfer what's on your old video cassettes, film reels and more. Think about those old home movies, weddings, birthdays, holidays, childhood activities. Those moments are irreplaceable, but if they're sitting on an old VHS tape, camcorder tape, photo or even film, they're at risk of fading or breaking down. Once they're gone, they're gone. That's why you need Legacy Box. Legacy Box is the safest and easiest way to preserve your old memories. You pack up your old media, send it in, they take care of the rest, digitize everything by hand right here in Tennessee. Then you get all your originals back plus digital versions on the cloud so you can easily share them with family or even watch them right on your smart TV. It's that simple. Join over 1.5 million families that have already trusted Legacy Box. Don't wait. Go to legacybox.com Clay to get started today. That's legacybox.com Clay Clay, level up your

[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

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[Clay Travis]

I appreciate all of you hanging out with us. Okay, you heard from both Ken Paxton and John Cornyn. Big Senate primary runoff today in Texas. Also, before we finished at the bottom of this hour, Jamie from Idaho asked the question that is the number one question that we get and I guess we just have to keep answering it because people are listening at different times of the day. But I'm starting to feel like the some of you will have experienced this very frequently or very recently. Deja vu all over again. Yeah, well, the car trip. Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? The reason why gas prices cannot be cheaper here than they are anywhere else in the world is because there's a global marketplace and if gas were cheaper here, everybody would come and buy as much of the gas here and take it to another country and sell it for cheaper. So the reason again, there is a price for oil and gas that exists here, that exists in many other different countries around the world, and it is a consistent price. So yes, we produce. We are a net exporter of oil and gas. That means that we are selling to many different countries around the world. We produce more than we actually need and as a result American companies make more money. Somebody said why should I care if American company, oil and gas company makes more money? The answer is because they employ more people in general. If we could all have super successful capitalistic companies in this country, everybody's life overall from a economic perspective would be better off. That is why capitalism works. Socialism and communism have not is because companies have to make money. Otherwise the government gets more of your money and wastes it, which is unfortunately what is happening all over the country.

[Buck Sexton]

I thought we got a very interesting, interesting email. VIP email here from Mark. He wrote the following Clay on this very issue. Responding to your caller today. By the way, it's a lot of callers, not just one, but caller today frustrated with high oil prices. He said what? What do high prices do for him? And your thought on windfall profits, Clay? That clay was talking windfall profits. I'm a retiree with 38 years working for a large E and P company. High profits allow companies to fund major capital projects which adds to production. Higher prices also allow companies to take bigger risks on projects that may be marginal or suspended. Oil company fights Oil companies fight decline curves in production and without reinvestment all companies production naturally decline and costs eventually increase. The government is already receiving higher taxes on company profits and royalties on production. The federal government receives a 12.5% royalty on production. Higher prices means higher royalty payments. Producing states also receive royalty payments for onshore production which are increased and available to states. More investment in capital projects flows through to companies providing services to upstream producers. This is a ton of money for payroll and construction and the like for communities supporting oil and gas. I know the short term spike is painful, but investment in domestic production overall will keep prices affordable for the longer term fighting decline curves and the benefits and all that benefits for consumers. God bless the U.S. oil and gas industry. I gotta say that's a super astute email.

[Clay Travis]

It's a fantastic email.

[Buck Sexton]

He definitely worked for an oil and gas company for a long time.

[Clay Travis]

No, it's a fantastic email. And look, I mean I think what you have and the reason why I mentioned Elizabeth Warren is a bunch of people have said hey, we need to tax the profits higher. Well, I'm against higher taxes across the board for you, for me, for companies and Buck asked, I think as we were going to a break. Well, the problem with a windfall profits tax is first of all it directly contradicts a lot of what that emailer says, which you take away the money from the company and keep them from reinvesting to become a more profitable company. But also, oil and gas prices go up and down. Like when oil prices go down and they will go down again. No one is feeling bad for oil and gas companies when it costs them more money to bring oil and gas to market than they are making or their profit margins go down to a very tiny margin. I get, however, this is the challenge that we have been talking about. People in many ways judge the economy based on gas prices. And when you sit down and start to fill up your tank and it costs you substantially more than it used to, that is very, very frustrating. No matter who is in power, people get angry. And I understand that. And the reality is, as we have been saying for President Trump and for a lot of Republicans on the ballot, oil and gas prices is going to be a large determining factor when people start to cast those ballots in October and November. That is a reality. Now some of you are saying, hey, this is a 47 year issue with Iran. I'm willing to handle a short term increase in oil and gas prices to solve a longer range issue. That's certainly an argument that can be made. I think it's harder to make come September and October what I would say in general. Four years ago, gas prices were higher than they are right now. So four years ago gas prices were higher than they are right now. I think you would sign on this buck and I'll let you finish off the program for the day here. If Trump is going to do well, gas prices are going to have to come back down a dollar or more.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, yeah, I think that that's now conventional wisdom. I think it's accurate. But I'd also say this on the gas price. When gas prices are unusually low, there's never any suggestion that the gas companies should just get some kind of all of a sudden, you know, rebate or. Yeah. So, you know, this is the, we believe in capitalism, right. And it can be painful at times in different sectors. But over the long run, I think it is the only system we have to make things better in this regard. Let's see who wins that big Texas Senate race. We'll talk our primary talk about it tomorrow.

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