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With the Senate shutting down for the month, Sen. John Cornyn jetted from Washington to Texas for the 22nd August recess in his career last weekend, trying to ensure it’s not one of his last.

The interlude is the last prolonged break in the Senate calendar before the end of the year, creating a critical window for Cornyn, locked in a battle for his political survival, to make up ground in his primary against Attorney General Ken Paxton . Voters throughout the state are now seeing millions of dollars worth of positive Cornyn ads from allied groups as the might of the Cornyn machine — including the Republican establishment in Washington — kicks into gear.

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