Jacob Smith is a lifetime Republican who has worked for Republicans in the House and the Senate. For the last five years, he has worked for Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) as a deputy legislative director and policy adviser.

Now he is deputy policy director for Democrat James Talarico’s senate campaign against Republican Ken Paxton.

“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, according to NOTUS. “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.” I suspect the Talarico campaign wrote that statement for him.

While he was at it, Smith blasted Paxton as “unfit” and “the most corrupt, self-dealing politician in Texas who would sell their futures to the highest contributor just to hold onto power.” I'll guess Smith meant every word of that, though.

We all know that Paxton and his MAGA buddies will use this as an excuse to attack Cornyn as a RINO. But Cornyn has already said he’ll vote for Paxton. More to the point, he’s not running for anything.

Meanwhile, Fox News pollsters moved the Texas contest from “lean Republican” to “toss up,” The Hill reported Tuesday. It also noted that no Democrat has won a Senate seat from Texas in nearly 40 years.