Texas has a new general-election shape. The Iran vote still has the old senator.

Thursday's paper said Cornyn kept his Iran vote after Paxton took his seat. It also said James Talarico opened against Paxton's scandals while the war-powers clock stayed with Cornyn.

CBS confirms Ken Paxton defeated John Cornyn in the Texas Republican Senate runoff, setting up Talarico against Paxton. [1] Separate CBS reporting on the Iran war-powers resolution identifies Cornyn as one of the Republicans who did not vote on the successful discharge motion before the June 1 showdown. [2] NBC's live coverage keeps the runoff inside the broader Trump-administration day. [3]

The distinction matters. Paxton owns the campaign. Cornyn owns the institutional act before he leaves. X wants humiliation or liberation. The Senate calendar asks a colder question: what does a defeated incumbent do when the next war vote arrives?

That is not a prediction of rebellion. It is a cleaner test of motive. Before Paxton's win, Cornyn could explain obedience as survival. After it, the Iran vote is less about keeping the nomination and more about whether institutional memory survives political defeat.

-- LUCIA VEGA, Sao Paulo