DALLAS—A faceoff that could define the future of the Senate has ended with a defeat for Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) at the hands of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who benefited from a late endorsement by President Donald Trump.
The Associated Press called the race for Paxton at 9 p.m. ET in the May 26 election that caps off the most expensive Senate primary in history.
Cornyn's ouster marks the latest Republican to be defeated by a Trump-backed primary challenger, following Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), and several Indiana state senators in recent weeks.
Paxton will face Democratic candidate Texas state Rep. James Talarico in November.
In the March 3 Republican Senate primary election, Cornyn bested Paxton, Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas), and other candidates in that contest; he emerged with less than 50 percent of the vote, triggering a runoff.
As of May 19, AdImpact counted a record-breaking $25 million in ad spending in the runoff alone, adding to almost $100 million in Republican spending in the initial primary. In both races, most of that money supported Cornyn, a multi-decade incumbent backed by the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Polls ahead of May 26 reflected a competitive race. One University of Houston survey released in May showed Paxton leading Cornyn by 3 points.
The online prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket moved strongly in favor of Paxton after Trump revealed he would back the challenger.
Trump made public his pick on May 19, one day after early voting started in the state’s primary runoffs. Hunt announced his support for Paxton soon afterwards.
The Trump Factor
In a Truth Social post announcing his endorsement, Trump said Cornyn “is a good man” but was “very late in backing” the president’s 2024 reelection campaign.Cornyn, though not supportive of Trump's impeachment, spoke critically of him after the events of Jan. 6, 2021, saying that “the president’s language was reckless” and discussing the possibility of post-presidential criminal charges against him “if in fact the evidence supported it.”
In 2022, during the Biden administration, Trump and Cornyn feuded over gun control legislation. Trump called Cornyn a “RINO,” or Republican In Name Only, because of his support for the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which increased restrictions on gun purchases and ownership, and which President Joe Biden signed into law.
In an interview ahead of the runoff, Cornyn stressed his continued support for the president, saying, “I want him to be successful, and I want America to be successful, and I want Republicans to be successful.”
Both Cornyn and Paxton fought hard for Trump’s seal of approval. The incumbent, who flew on Air Force One with the president days ahead of the initial primary election, touted a history of votes in line with the president and proven electability.
Soon after that race concluded, Paxton spoke of potentially dropping out “if Senate Leadership agrees to lift the filibuster and passes the SAVE America Act.”
The SAVE America Act, a Trump priority, is election integrity legislation that has not passed the Republican-led Senate. The president has also repeatedly urged that chamber to eliminate the filibuster or institute the standing filibuster rule in order to pass this and other legislation by a 50-vote threshold, with a deciding vote if needed by the vice president, stating that Democrats will do it anyway once they regain control.
The high-profile race pitted different factions of the Trump-era Republican Party against each other.
Texans Compare Candidates
Waxahachie, Texas—an occasional shooting location for the television show “Walker, Texas Ranger”—is the seat of Ellis County, south of Dallas.In March, Paxton edged out Cornyn in Ellis County by 2 percent.
On the morning of May 26, pro-Paxton sentiment was palpable just outside one Waxahachie polling place—a Knights of Columbus lodge among the subdivisions on the edge of town.
Mary Smith told The Epoch Times she cast her ballot for the Texas attorney general.
“I want the RINO out,” she said, referring to Cornyn, as she stepped into her vehicle.
Mark Hunter, another Paxton voter, told The Epoch Times that Trump’s endorsement made a difference for him.
“Cornyn has been there a long time,” he said. “Give somebody else a shot.”
Kaufman County, the home of Scurry, Texas, was a Paxton hotspot in March. He beat Cornyn by 11 points there.
Rebecca Upchurch is one of the Scurryites who cast a Republican primary ballot. She found it hard to decide between Cornyn and Paxton.
“I did not make up my mind until I got off my front porch this morning,” she told The Epoch Times outside the local government building where she voted.
Upchurch went with the incumbent, describing her choice as “kind of a hold-your-nose vote.”
Thirty-two miles into the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, locals flocked in and out of a Dallas County government building in Mesquite, the official Rodeo Capital of Texas.
Dallas County, a Democratic stronghold in heavily Republican Texas, was Cornyn country in the initial primary election. The senator beat the state attorney general by 18 points there.
In Mesquite, the Republican primary voters who spoke with The Epoch Times favored Paxton.
“I hadn't liked Cornyn in 20 years,” said Larry Hargus. He believes Cornyn has been an obstacle to Trump-aligned legislation reaching the Senate floor.
Chris Swain, who is retired from work in criminal justice, said Paxton appears to fight for issues that matter to her. She cited his opposition to illegal immigration and the institution of sharia law in Texas.
Garry Swain, also retired from work in criminal justice, said Cornyn is “getting too old to be there.”
He took issue with the senator’s support for the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which would introduce firearms controls.
“You don’t do that in Texas,” he said.