Erik Gomez, one of the youngest mayors in Texas, has modeled his budding career after Republicans like U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a man he admires and wanted to win reelection this year.

So the 26-year-old rising Latino leader used every ounce of his modest political capital to help Cornyn defeat Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Republican primary.

A year ago, the Cornyn campaign blasted a fundraising email with a plea penned by Gomez, who lauded the senior senator for his efforts to secure the Texas-Mexico border.