Paxton Defeats Cornyn in Texas Senate Primary
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn in the state’s primary runoff Tuesday, adding to President Donald Trump’s hot streak of unseating those he considers insufficiently loyal and ending Cornyn’s multi-decade career in the Senate.
The Associated Press declared Paxton the victor at 9 p.m. EDT, when he held a 25 point lead over Cornyn. Paxton had secured 62.5% of the vote to Cornyn’s 37.5%.
In his victory speech, Paxton credited his victory to Trump and pledged to work with him.
“When everyone in Washington told him to abandon me and abandon the people of Texas, he didn’t listen,” Paxton said of Trump.
Paxton added, “Instead, he gave me his complete and total endorsement. President Trump is the leader of our party and his endorsement… is the most powerful force in politics… I look forward to delivering with him in the Senate to deliver for Texans.”
Cornyn, who has served in the Senate since 2002, has long been a powerful figure in Washington politics, having previously served as the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and as the Republican Senate whip from 2013 to 2019.
Paxton will now head to the general election against state Rep. James Talarico, who defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, for the party’s nomination in March.
Talarico has developed a large social media presence and has been a powerful fundraiser—although not at the level of Democrat Beto O’Rourke in 2018.
In a statement on X after Paxton won, Talarico courted Cornyn’s supporters.
“I want to thank Senator John Cornyn for his years representing our state,” wrote Talarico. “We don’t agree on everything, but we both still believe in public service. To Senator Cornyn’s supporters: you have a place in our campaign.”
In his concession speech, Cornyn indicated he would support Paxton in the general election after a hard-fought primary.
“I’ve always supported the Republican ticket and I intend to do so again in this general election,” said Cornyn. “I’ve said throughout this race that I trust the voters of Texas and they’ve made their decision and I must respect it.”
The Cook Political Report previously rated the Texas race’s outcome “likely Republican,” but upon Paxton’s victory, shifted it to “lean Republican.”
Paxton Challenged Cornyn From the Right
Paxton, who has been the Lone Star State’s attorney general since 2015, challenged Cornyn’s conservative bona fides throughout the race, pointing to the incumbent’s past disagreements with Trump, and how he had questioned whether Trump was the right choice as nominee in 2024.
Cornyn has made a name for himself as a bipartisan dealmaker in the Senate, having joined together with Crockett to advocate for making Juneteenth a federal holiday and having backed the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act—a gun control law passed after the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting.
These past compromises with liberals in Congress, along with his previous opposition to the construction of a border wall, provided fodder for critics.
However, despite occasional differences with the president and figures in the party’s conservative base, the Texas senator ultimately backed Trump as a general election candidate in all of his election bids and did not vote to convict him in his impeachment trials.
Cornyn also voted to confirm of all of Trump’s Cabinet nominees in both terms.
A Brutal Battle
Cornyn released vicious attack ads during the campaign, accusing Paxton of corruption and marital infidelity and arguing past “scandals” would hurt Republicans’ chances across Texas. Paxton was impeached by the Texas state House in 2023 before being acquitted by the state Senate. His wife, Angela Paxton, filed for divorce during the campaign on what she called “biblical grounds.”
Multiple figures from Trump’s orbit supported Cornyn, such as strategist Chris LaCivita, who worked on Trump’s 2024 campaign and assisted a pro-Cornyn political action committee, and pollster Tony Fabrizio, who has worked with all of the president’s campaigns and was contracted by Cornyn’s campaign.
Trump waited until late in the campaign to endorse, all while the two Republican frontrunners continued to attack each other with vicious ads.
During the first round of the primary in March, Cornyn came in first place, narrowly beating Paxton, with both of them leading Rep. Wesley Hunt in third place.
However, all told, nearly 60 percent of Texas Republicans voted to unseat Cornyn in the first round.
Shortly after the first round, Trump promised to endorse one of the candidates, asking that the others drop out immediately. Soon thereafter, The Atlantic reported Trump was expected to endorse Cornyn, but it did not materialize.
Paxton pledged to drop out on the condition that Cornyn work to terminate the Senate’s filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act—legislation requiring photo identification and proof of citizenship in federal elections. Trump held off on his endorsement.
Cornyn consequently backed eliminating the filibuster, but still no endorsement came from Trump.
Finally, on May 19, after having successfully unseated Sen. Bill Cassidy of in Louisiana’s Republican primary, Trump endorsed Paxton over Cornyn, citing Paxton’s strong support for overriding the Senate’s filibuster to pass legislation. The president also said Cornyn was “not supportive of me when times were tough,” citing Cornyn’s “very late” endorsement in 2024.
Hunt joined in, finally endorsing Paxton after having withheld his support after the first round of the primary. Cornyn did not drop out of the race upon Trump’s endorsement of Paxton.
