A former senior aide to Republican Sen. John Cornyn has left the senator’s orbit to join the U.S. Senate campaign of Democratic state Rep. James Talarico, marking a rare cross-party defection in one of the country’s most closely watched Senate races.
Jacob Smith, who spent five years working for Cornyn as deputy legislative director and policy adviser, will serve as Talarico’s deputy policy director, according to a statement Talarico’s campaign confirmed to Newsweek. NOTUS reporters Igor Bobic and Reese Gorman first reported the hire.
“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 in a statement confirmed through the Talarico campaign. He said Talarico’s focus on lowering costs for working Texans rather than partisan politics drove his decision. He also criticized Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general and called on fellow Republicans to reject him at the ballot box.
Cornyn responded to the news in a post on X, writing that “only in authoritarian countries does someone else get to decide where you work. Not in Texas,” and urging critics of the hire to focus on broadening Republican outreach beyond the party’s base.
Smith frames the move as a rejection of partisan politics
Smith cast the decision as a matter of principle rather than partisanship.
“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,” he said.
He was more pointed in his criticism of Paxton, “Ken Paxton is the most corrupt, self-dealing politician in Texas who would sell their futures to the highest contributor just to hold onto power. I’m encouraging all my fellow Republicans who know Ken Paxton is unfit to serve in the Senate to finally hold him accountable at the ballot box.”
Talarico’s campaign confirmed the hire on a Monday, months ahead of the midterm elections. In a press release the next morning, Talarico described Smith as “capable” and “dedicated” and said he was honored to have him join the team. The campaign said the hire “demonstrates Talarico’s longtime commitment to bipartisanship — bringing Republicans, Democrats and independents together to fix this broken, corrupt political system.”
Cornyn’s response and reaction from Republican operatives
Asked for comment on Smith’s new role, Cornyn’s campaign referred MS NOW to previous statements in which the senator vowed to support the Republican ticket despite losing the primary to Paxton. Cornyn has separately called Paxton a “crook,” “corrupt” and unfit for office while saying he intends to back the party’s nominee.
The hire drew swift backlash from some Republicans online. One unnamed GOP operative described the move as “unheard of” in comments to NOTUS reporters covering the story. The Hill also reported on the hire.
How Paxton became the nominee
Paxton defeated Cornyn in a bitter Republican primary runoff earlier this year, setting up the general election matchup against Talarico. Paxton beat Cornyn, a four-term incumbent, after President Donald Trump endorsed him in the race’s final stretch, spurning the sitting senator.
Paxton enters the general election after a contentious Republican primary in which questions about his record became a central issue. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has said Paxton is “so corrupt that even his own party tried to remove him from office,” referring to his impeachment by the Republican-controlled Texas House, which approved 20 articles against him over alleged bribery and abuse of public trust tied to a proposed whistleblower lawsuit settlement.
Several former Paxton aides said they were fired after accusing him of accepting bribes and other misconduct. The Texas Senate acquitted Paxton, who has denied wrongdoing and dismissed the impeachment and other allegations as politically motivated.
What the hire means for Talarico’s crossover strategy
The appeal to Smith’s “fellow Republicans” points to a central challenge facing Talarico: A Democrat has not won a statewide race in Texas since 1994. Talarico will likely need strong Democratic turnout combined with support from independents and Republicans unwilling to back Paxton.
Democratic consultant Steve Schale told Mediaite that Republican validators like Smith could make GOP-leaning voters more comfortable breaking from their party to support a Democrat.
Where the race stands in the polls
Recent surveys show Talarico and Paxton trading narrow leads. An Emerson College poll sponsored by Nexstar found Paxton ahead 47% to 46%, with 5% undecided and 2% backing another candidate. The poll had a margin of error of approximately 3 percentage points.
A YouGov Blue poll sponsored by 254 Labs found Talarico leading 48% to 45%. A Wedgewood Polls survey showed Talarico ahead 48% to 46%, with 6% undecided. A Texas Pulse poll sponsored by ReconMR and the Texas A&M Bush School put Talarico ahead 47% to 43%. A Fox News poll found Talarico leading 51% to 48%, while a New York Times/Siena poll found the candidates tied at 47% each.
