Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was roundly mocked on Tuesday night after he gave his victory speech for defeating incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) in the state's runoff election.
Paxton was declared the winner just after polls closed at 9 p.m. ET. He will move on to face Democratic Texas state lawmaker James Talarico in November, a race that some GOP pundits have suggested will be expensive because Paxton is not known for his fundraising skills.
During his speech, Paxton took a shot at Talarico by calling him a "vegan" and a "threat to our way of life."
"He's a threat to our very way of life and our values," Paxton said dryly. "I mean, he's a vegan who thinks God in nonbinary, and he thinks there are six biological genders."
Political analysts and observers roundly mocked Paxton online.
"Paxton is favored just because of the state's partisan lean, but it is wild to me that this guy has made it this far in state politics. He has no juice! none! zilch!" Jamelle Bouie, a columnist at The New York Times, posted on Bluesky.
"Incredible that they've taken Talarico saying his order at a particular taco place was a potato, egg, and cheese breakfast taco and turned that into 'he's a vegan,'" immigration attorney Aaron Reichlin-Melnick posted on Bluesky. "Just straight-up old-school flim-flam."
"These people are too online, I don’t think the average person even knows what it means to say God is nonbinary or importantly cares when gas is $4 a gallon," Zaid Jilani, a writer, posted on X.
"I hope the Texans who voted for him can stuff red meat in their gas tanks, which — on account of having a hole — must be female, while they are praying to be able to afford their groceries," Branislav Slantchev, a political science professor at UCSD, posted on X.