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Decision day in Senate GOP runoff between John Cornyn and Ken Paxton
WASHINGTON – Texas Republicans were deciding Tuesday whether they want a veteran statesman or a political brawler representing them in the Senate.
Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton have spent more than a year tearing into each other through biting ads, hostile interviews and social media broadsides in one of the state’s nastiest campaigns in years.
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The runoff for the Republican Senate nomination shifted sharply in its final days after President Donald Trump endorsed Paxton, turning the contest into another test of the president’s influence over the GOP.
Throughout the race, Cornyn emphasized experience and seniority and said Paxton’s scandals, legal troubles and conduct made him unfit for the Senate and too risky for Republicans in a general election.
Paxton rejected that, running as an unapologetic “America First” conservative ready to confront both Democrats and Republicans he views as insufficiently loyal to Trump and his priorities.
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The nationally watched matchup has become the most expensive Senate primary in U.S. history, topping $130 million in spending by all candidates and their allies.
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Its outcome could help determine whether Republicans keep the seat, along with their Senate majority, in November.
Waiting for the winner is Democratic nominee James Talarico, a state representative from Austin whose approach to politics blends his Christian faith with progressive ideology.
Talarico has said he could attract Republicans and right-leaning independents frustrated with GOP leadership by portraying divisive social fights as distractions from everyday economic struggles.
The last time Democrats won a U.S. Senate race in Texas was in 1988.
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Strong Paxton start
The attorney general, elected AG in 2014, jumped into the Senate race last April with an immediate polling lead, swinging at Cornyn as a Republican in name only who had betrayed Trump and the conservative grassroots.
Cornyn, seeking a fifth term, repeatedly pointed to Paxton’s 2023 impeachment by the GOP-led Texas House on corruption charges, though the Senate later acquitted him.
He also hammered Paxton over allegations of infidelity raised by his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, who filed for divorce last year.
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The tens of millions Cornyn’s side poured into promoting his pro-Trump voting record and bashing Paxton showed results by Labor Day, when polls showed Cornyn had largely closed the gap.
Rep. Wesley Hunt of Houston made it a three-way race in October, barnstorming across the state, stressing his military service and casting himself as a younger MAGA alternative.
Cornyn soon turned his fire on Hunt, painting him as an opportunist who shirked his duties in Washington to pursue a doomed vanity project.
All three candidates stressed their support for Trump, who declined to endorse before the March 3 primary. Cornyn narrowly finished first ahead of Paxton.
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Hunt never gained significant traction but siphoned enough votes to keep either candidate from gaining an outright majority, forcing the Cornyn-Paxton runoff.
Trump endorsement
Trump repeatedly teased an endorsement before backing off after what Paxton allies viewed as a shrewd maneuver.
Paxton said he would consider dropping out if Cornyn and other Senate Republicans agreed to make it easier to pass a voter ID bill prioritized by Trump. The bill stalled and Paxton stayed in.
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Trump ultimately defied many Senate Republican leaders who viewed Paxton as a risky nominee, waiting until the middle of early voting to endorse him just a week before the runoff.
Trump described Paxton as a loyal ally who had battled alongside him politically, while calling Cornyn “a good man” who failed to stand with him during difficult periods. Cornyn had previously questioned Trump’s ability to win the 2024 election and urged Republicans to consider another nominee.
Just two incumbent U.S. senators from Texas have lost a primary in the last 100 years.
The runoff has highlighted competing Republican views on what kind of candidate gives the party its best chance in November.
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Cornyn said Paxton’s legal and personal controversies could alienate swing voters and force Republicans to spend heavily on protecting a seat they usually win comfortably. Paxton supporters say his hard-line style is better suited to energize the MAGA base without Trump on the ballot.
Democrats must gain four seats in November to reclaim Senate control, targeting Republican-held seats in Alaska, Maine, North Carolina and Ohio.