John Rose

Texas Republicans face a stark choice in the Senate showdown Tuesday between two men who took very different paths to power.

Sen. John Cornyn built his career through the courts, the Senate and Republican leadership. He is betting GOP voters still value experience, stability and a candidate they believe can hold the seat in November.

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Attorney General Ken Paxton rose through the Tea Party movement and became one of the country’s most combative conservative attorneys general. He is counting on Republicans who see him as a Trump ally and aggressive voice for the MAGA base.

While candidates embrace many of the same conservative priorities, they represent contrasting brands of today’s Texas GOP.

Here’s a closer look before the runoff.

Cornyn: What to know

John Cornyn went from the Texas Supreme Court to attorney general and then the U.S. Senate, where he has shaped federal policy for more than two decades.

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Voters have elected him four times to the seat. Cornyn now is asking them for a fifth term but faces a tough challenge in Tuesday’s Republican runoff from Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Started on the bench

Cornyn, 74, was elected in 1984 as a state district judge in Bexar County. He later won a seat on the Texas Supreme Court, where one of his best-known opinions upheld the “Robin Hood” school finance law that spread resources more evenly between property-rich and poor school districts.

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Elected attorney general

Cornyn left the bench to run for attorney general in 1998. Critics attacked him over the Robin Hood ruling, but Cornyn defended it as judicial restraint rather than support for the law itself. He won and served four years as the state’s top lawyer.

From Austin to Washington

After Sen. Phil Gramm retired, Cornyn won the open Senate seat, beating Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk in 2002, and became a reliable ally of President George W. Bush. He climbed Republican leadership ranks, serving as Senate GOP whip and a close adviser to Sen. Mitch McConnell. He sought to succeed McConnell as the GOP leader in 2024, highlighting his fundraising and legislative experience. He lost the race to Sen. John Thune of South Dakota.

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Changing GOP

Cornyn angered many grassroots conservatives for helping pass a gun safety bill after the 2022 Uvalde school shooting. Texas GOP convention delegates loudly booed him over the measure. Cornyn defended its narrow focus on mental health, school security and keeping guns from dangerous people, saying it would save lives without weakening gun rights.

Trump factor

Cornyn helped confirm conservative judges and supported Trump’s first-term tax cuts but drew backlash for working with Democrats. Like many other Republicans, he moved from occasional Trump critic to political ally. But Trump ultimately backed Paxton and questioned Cornyn’s loyalty.

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Staff writer Joseph Morton in Washington.

Paxton: What to know

Attorney General Ken Paxton has risen from a little-known state lawmaker to President Donald Trump’s choice for the U.S. Senate.

His time in office has made him one of the nation's most powerful state attorneys general. Now, he has his sights set on unseating longtime Sen. John Cornyn in the GOP runoff Tuesday.

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Political start

Paxton, 63, entered politics in 2003 after winning a seat in the Texas House from Collin County. He later served in the Senate, building a reputation as a hard-line conservative closely aligned with the Tea Party movement. In 2014, he was elected attorney general, succeeding Greg Abbott.

Legal targets

Paxton elevated the attorney general’s office into one of the country’s most aggressive conservative legal operations, challenging Democratic administrations, Texas cities, universities, tech companies and others. Some targets accused Paxton of filing splashy suits for political gain, then quietly failing to follow through once the headlines faded.

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Fraud indictment

The prospect of prison time hung over Paxton for nearly a decade after his 2015 indictment on securities fraud charges tied to allegations that he misled investors. The case ended in 2024 after he agreed to pay restitution without admitting wrongdoing.

Beating impeachment

The GOP-led Texas House impeached Paxton in 2023 on corruption allegations. Former top aides accused him of abusing the powers of his office to benefit a political donor. His acquittal in the Senate only strengthened his standing with many grassroots conservatives, who saw him as politically persecuted.

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Marriage fallout

Paxton’s public split from state Sen. Angela Paxton of McKinney reignited allegations that he had extramarital affairs, after she announced she was filing for divorce on “biblical grounds.” The breakup gave the Cornyn campaign fodder for a series of negative ads and created tension for Paxton with some faith-based voters.

Election ally

Paxton became one of Trump’s fiercest allies, disputing the 2020 presidential election results in four states and standing with Trump during his Washington rally before the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Trump later cited Paxton’s loyalty in endorsing him.

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