Cornyn Staffer Makes Unusual Move That Has Everyone Talking, Convinces Paxton Voters They Were Right

NOTUS (News of the United States) dropped an interesting story on Monday that had a lot of people talking.

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 said.

But it's actually quite revealing.

Cornyn's team lost. So they obviously didn't have a good idea of how to beat their opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, in the primary.

I can understand being upset about losing a primary. But if you can say that you would support Talarico, who has such leftist positions and beliefs, then I have a lot of questions about your Republican credentials and what you believe. And this guy, Jacob Smith, was a policy adviser for Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)? This may explain so much about why Cornyn took some of the positions he did.

Is this move by Smith also some kind of message from Cornyn?

When contacted for comment, a Cornyn spokesperson directed NOTUS to remarks the senator has made repeatedly in recent months where he’s said he will “support the Republican ticket” in the fall.

Cornyn says that, but he's also made comments that have not been helpful.

It's safe to say hiring a cross-party staffer is uncommon.

“That is unheard of,” said the operative, who’s worked on Senate races, about a move at that level.

This confirmed for many on the right that they were correct in their vote for Paxton rather than Cornyn in the primary.

The only correct way to view this is “See, the GOP primary voters were correct.”

That John Cornyn’s staff was DEM-adjacent probably does NOT surprise the 64% of Republicans who voted for Paxton … or even most of the 36% who voted for Cornyn.
— Michael Quinn Sullivan 🇺🇸 (@MQSullivan) August 18, 2026

Says way more about Cornyn than Talarico. May the latter lose as well.
— Teresa Granda (@TRESINTEXAS) August 17, 2026

Masks all the way off now. https://t.co/fz54d29R8W
— Rep. Mitch Little (@realmitchlittle) August 17, 2026

Yes. This makes clear that had Cornyn won the primary it would have been Talarico vs other Talarico. https://t.co/RYwdqVmPGo
— David Marcus (@BlueBoxDave) August 18, 2026

If Talarico thinks voters are going to fall for this and think he's more centrist, he's kidding himself. Talarico isn't for Republican policies, and he's for policies and things that are going to harm Texas and the country.

If someone is standing with him, he's standing on the wrong side. Not only is Talarico wrong, but anyone supporting him may also be helping the Democrats in general in their effort to grab the Senate.

The Democrats are going to go all in on this race. They're raising a lot of money; they're going to throw anything up against the wall. Republicans need to assume nothing and get everyone out to the polls to win.

Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.

Help RedState continue to report on the Democrats’ radicalism and inform voters as our nation faces a crossroads. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.