MAY 27, 2026
Ken Paxton defeats Sen. John Cornyn in Texas Republican Senate runoff, setting up competitive general election
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated four-term Republican incumbent Sen. John Cornyn by more than 27 percentage points in Tuesday's Senate primary runoff, winning the GOP nomination after receiving President Trump's endorsement one week before the vote. Paxton will face Democratic nominee James Talarico, a state representative, in November. The Republican primary was the most expensive Senate primary in U.S. history, with roughly $100 million in ads spent during the contest.
Ken Paxton's decisive win over John Cornyn ended the career of a four-term senator and the longest-serving Republican in Texas history, delivering Trump another primary victory as he seeks to reshape the Senate Republican caucus in his image. Turnout in Tuesday's runoff — just under 1.4 million votes — was notably lower than the nearly 2.2 million cast in March's primary, a dynamic Cornyn had counted on to boost center-right Republican participation.
Trump celebrated the outcome at his Cabinet meeting, describing Paxton's victory as "a prelude" to midterm success and promising "big, beautiful rallies" for Paxton in the fall. The president had labeled Cornyn "VERY disloyal" before endorsing Paxton, citing the senator's late support in the 2016 and 2024 primaries and opposition to Trump's border wall. Cornyn, who was backed by Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said after the race that he intends to support the Republican ticket in November.
The NRSC's posture shifted sharply following the result. CNN's KFile reported that the committee deleted at least two dozen press releases, digital ads, and social media posts attacking Paxton as "Crooked Ken" and accusing him of giving a favorable legal deal to an alleged child sex trafficker — attacks the NRSC had circulated as recently as late 2025. After the runoff, the NRSC did not mention Paxton by name in its victory statement, instead pivoting to attacks on Talarico.