Senator John Cornyn roasted over Puerto Rico election tweet

KTRK logo
Friday, November 13, 2020
Senator John Cornyn roasted over Puerto Rico election tweet
The newly re-elected Senator from Texas was commenting on a story about uncounted votes. There was a problem with that.

Newly re-elected U.S. Senator John Cornyn faced swift criticism Thursday over a tweet he shared about claims of uncounted votes a week after the election in Puerto Rico.

"Another example of why it is prudent to let the process run its course: Thousands of Uncounted Votes Found a Week After Election in Puerto Rico," Cornyn wrote.

Puerto Ricans don't get to vote for president, and the territory doesn't send members to Congress.

Reaction from Twitter users was swift and pointed.

"OK I'm missing something here. You do know Puerto Rico doesn't vote in presidential elections?" one user wrote.

"HELLO SENATOR, Google is a great tool. You should use it," another tweeted.

Cornyn wrote the tweet in response to a New York Times story on local elections in the United States territory.

Cornyn later tweeted a clarification.

"Neither the story or my comments are limited to presidential elections," the Senator wrote, but didn't explain what he meant.

Cornyn was re-elected to a fourth term as the senior Senator for Texas with nearly 54% of the vote over challenger MJ Hegar in the 2020 general election.