The Texas Senate race is set to be a close, grinding contest. And one overlooked candidate could tip the whole thing over. Nearly all the attention so far has gone to the two major parties. The GOP nominee, state attorney general Ken Paxton, defeated four-term incumbent senator John Cornyn in a primary runoff last month with nearly 64 percent of the vote. It was a blowout, but Paxton’s chances in the general election are far from certain.