Senator John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas (L) and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Eddie Seal | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in a Republican Senate runoff Tuesday, coming a week after President Donald Trump endorsed the challenger over the objections of Senate leadership.
Paxton will face off against Democratic state legislator James Talarico in the general election in November. The race is expected to be one of the most expensive in the nation as the GOP vies to keep control of the Senate and Democrats push to win a long-sought Senate seat in Texas.
The result makes Cornyn the latest victim in Trump’s crusade against lawmakers in his own party who he deems insufficiently supportive of him, cementing the president’s role in shaping the Republican Party’s nominees for the 2026 midterm election.
Democrats, who believe Paxton is beatable in a state they have long sought to flip due to his extensive ethical and legal troubles, were jubilant after the race was called.
“While Republicans are facing their nightmare scenario, tonight Democrats are one step closer to winning a Senate majority, and in November, Texas will send James Talarico to the Senate,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said in a statement.
“Ken Paxton is so corrupt that even his own party tried to remove him from office, and during his tenure as Attorney General, criminals have walked free while Paxton and his wealthy donors have profited at the expense of Texas families,” they said.
Trump has made vanquishing his political enemies in the GOP a priority in his second term. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., failed to qualify for a runoff in Louisiana earlier in May after Trump endorsed his opponent in the primary. And Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a frequent Trump foil in his second term, fell in a primary to Trump-backed challenger Ed Gallrein.
Trump’s endorsement of Paxton last week sent shock waves through the Republican-controlled Senate, which poured significant resources into Cornyn’s reelection bid. Cornyn took extensive steps to mend his relationship with Trump, which has been strained over the years.
The Republican primary in Texas has been among the messiest of the 2026 campaign cycle. Cornyn’s campaign has slammed Paxton, a close Trump ally, over a slew of ethical and legal scandals that have plagued him and his office throughout his tenure as the Lone Star State’s top law enforcement official.
Paxton was impeached by the Texas House of Representatives and acquitted by the Senate and has been indicted for securities fraud. He was recently divorced from his wife on what she described as “biblical grounds.”
State Representative James Talarico, a Democrat from Texas and US Senate candidate, speaks during the kickoff event for his Take Back Texas tour in Austin, Texas, US, on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026.
Joel Angel Juarez | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Paxton’s campaign, meanwhile, tried to frame Cornyn as a longtime Washington establishment figure.
Cornyn is a four-term incumbent with significant cachet in the Senate. He was the Senate Republican Whip, the No. 2 position in the upper chamber, from 2013-2019. He lost a 2024 bid to lead Republicans in the Senate to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, but is still popular with his colleagues. Senate Republicans believe Cornyn would be a more formidable — and less expensive — opponent to Talarico in the general election.
Cornyn has been a reliable vote for the White House throughout Trump’s second term. However, now unshackled from electoral consequences should he oppose the president, Cornyn may become a crucial swing vote in the chamber that Republicans control by only three votes.
Paxton was the odds-on favorite to come out on top in the primary after the Trump endorsement. A Quantus Insights poll released Monday found Paxton leading Cornyn by 9.3 percentage points heading into Election Day.
In endorsing Paxton on Truth Social, Trump said Cornyn is “a good man, and I worked well with him, but he was not supportive of me when times were tough.”
“Ken Paxton has gone through a lot, in many cases, very unfairly, but he is a Fighter, and knows how to WIN,” the president said. “Our Country needs Fighters, and also Loyalty to the Cause of Greatness.”
Elsewhere in Texas, longtime Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, was defeated by freshman Rep. Christian Menefee, D-Texas, after redistricting placed them in the same district. Green was known for interrupting Trump’s recent speeches to Congress.