Four-term Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) lost renomination to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday in a GOP primary that became a referendum on loyalty to President Donald Trump.
The Trump-backed Paxton received 62.5% of the votes compared to Cornyn’s 37.5% when the Associated Press called the race. The three-term attorney general will face off against the Democratic nominee, state Rep. James Talarico, in the general election.
Cornyn, who was first elected to the Senate in 2002, attempted to make the primary campaign about Paxton’s conduct in office, his prior indictment for state securities fraud — which was settled — and allegations of infidelity. Many of the controversies dogged Paxton for years, but had not prevented him from winning statewide office three times.
Instead, the primary race became about Trump and what many Republicans viewed as Cornyn’s insufficient support for the president or conservative principles. The 74-year-old incumbent came under fire for working with Democrats to pass bipartisan gun control legislation after the 2022 Uvalde shooting. Cornyn also came under fire for comments he made in 2023, saying that Trump couldn’t win another White House term and “time has passed him by.”
“John was very late in backing me in what turned out to be a Historic Run for the Republican Nomination, and then, the Presidency, itself,” Trump wrote when endorsing Paxton.
Paxton ran as an avowed MAGA loyalist. At one point in the runoff, the attorney general even offered to drop his challenge to Cornyn if Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) blew up the 60-vote filibuster threshold and passed the SAVE America Act. The voter ID bill caused significant heartburn for Thune and Cornyn. A longtime supporter of the filibuster, Cornyn initially remained vague about blowing up the parliamentary tool in favor of the SAVE Act, but eventually came out in support.
The move was not sufficient, however, to get other Senate Republicans on board with abolishing the filibuster. The Senate GOP’s inability to pass the SAVE Act, despite Trump’s repeated calls to do so, contributed to the president’s decision to back Paxton.
“I know Ken well, have seen him tested at the highest and most difficult levels, and he is a WINNER,” Trump said in his endorsement. “Ken is a Strong Supporter of TERMINATING THE FILIBUSTER and, very importantly, THE SAVE AMERICA ACT, something which polls at 87%, including Dumocrats, and yet can’t seem to get.”
Cornyn led the March primary with 42% of the vote, narrowly ahead of Paxton’s 40.5%. Since neither candidate got more than 50% of the vote, a runoff was required by Texas law.
National Democrats are bullish that Talarico’s fundraising advantage and Paxton’s controversial tenure as attorney general will put the race into play. Paxton was impeached by the Texas House of Representatives in 2023 for allegedly giving preferential treatment to a donor and obstructing justice. The Texas Senate acquitted Paxton of the charges.
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A recent poll from Texas Southern University showed Cornyn leading Talarico 45% to 44%. The same poll found Paxton and Talarico tied at 45% each.
Cornyn is not the first incumbent to lose following Trump’s weighing in against them. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) both lost their primaries earlier this month due to Trump’s involvement in the races.
