As previously rumored, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is running against incumbent John Cornyn for the 2026 Republican senate nomination.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton made his long-rumored bid for U.S. Senate official, looking to knock off Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) from the seat he’s held for two decades.
“I’m excited to do this here, I am running for U.S. Senate against John Cornyn,” Paxton said on Laura Ingraham’s Fox News show on Tuesday night. “We have a great senator in Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). But it’s time we have another one who stands up for America and stands by Donald Trump.”
In the brief interview, Paxton hit Cornyn over his 2022 gun reform package that resulted in the senator being booed on stage at the Texas GOP convention, and the senior senator’s “opposition to funding a border wall.”
His official campaign statement read, “I’m running for U.S. Senate to fight for President Trump’s agenda and take a sledgehammer to the D.C. establishment. John Cornyn has been in Washington for over two decades, and he has turned his back on President Trump and the America First agenda time after time.”
“He’s said President Trump’s ‘time has passed him by’ and called President Trump’s border wall ‘naive.’ Texans deserve far better than a Senator who thinks it’s ‘naive’ to build a border wall to protect our citizens. It’s crystal clear that it’s time for a change. I’m a battle-tested Attorney General and conservative warrior who’s secured major victories against the establishment, the corrupt Biden Administration, and woke corporations. Now, I’m ready to take that same toughness to the U.S. Senate.”
Paxton’s campaign website went live shortly before his Fox appearance.
The attorney general foreshadowed this move last month, telling Punchbowl News that he would jump in if he could collect $20 million in commitments by June.
The matchup is both titanic and long expected. Paxton and Cornyn have traded blows frequently on social media, including the senator telling the attorney general, “It’s hard to run from prison, Ken,” amidst the 2023 impeachment proceedings.
Paxton was acquitted on all counts of impeachment by the Texas Senate after a 12-day trial in September.
Yeah, that prison quip may turn out to be as ill-advised as Obama’s slam of Donald Trump in 2012.
This is likely to be a bruising, big-money race, and Texas hasn’t had two such high profile incumbents run against each other since Kay Baily Hutchison unsuccessfully tried to eject Rick Perry from the governor’s mansion in 2010.
With his record of suing both the Obama and Biden Administrations for their unconstitutional, radical left-wing policies, Paxton is much more popular with the Republican base than Cornyn. With all his previous legal issues resolved and the dramatic failure of the Dade Phelan-led impeachment effort against him, Paxton is better positioned to run than ever, and Cornyn is arguable the most vulnerable he’s ever been. But Cornyn still have all the advantages of incumbency, including juicy campaign contributions from a wide variety of business and special interest PACs.
This will be a very interesting race.
Tags: 2026 Election, 2026 Texas Senate Race, Donald Trump, Elections, John Cornyn, Ken Paxton, Republicans, Texas
“We have a great senator in Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). But it’s time we have another one who stands up for America and stands by Donald Trump.”
This duo would represent the greatest political pairing since Reagan and Thatcher. Okay, that’s hyperbole but can you imagine the damage these two would inflict on the Leftists in Congress?
Cornyn is a wannabe Mitch McConnell, an omnibus piggy and DC swamp critter through and through.
Removing him would go a long ways towards ridding Texas of the Establishment, an infection that is surprisingly strong in Texas, and nearly as much a problem as the Donks (eg, Phelan).
Cruz is 54 years old. Paxton is 62. Cornyn is 73. Hard pressed to think of anything Cruz (or Cornyn) has accomplished during the first Trump term to the present. Trump and the United States could have used some help.
I say again: this race will come down to one question — who does PDT endorse?
Cornyn knows this, and so will not cross PDT on anything for the next two years.
PDT also knows this, and so the master negotiator will be putting the squeeze on Cornyn to deliver more than just his vote on various issues.
If Cornyn proves himself to be a sufficiently loyal soldier that PDT is willing to endorse him, look for PDT to quietly offer Paxton some sort of consolation prize for dropping out of the race.
But if Cornyn reverts to his Beltway RINO persona, methinks the primary will be a rerun of the Cruz-Dewhurst slaughter.
Ted’s done a lot of good work in the senate, much of it unheralded.
Prediction- if Paxton wins the primary or ever looks sure to win it, Cornyn goes 3rd party and hands the seat to the Democrats.
[…] Paxton Runs Against Cornyn. “As previously rumored, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is running against incumbent John […]
“… Cornyn goes 3rd party and hands the seat to the Democrats .”
This vote splitting strategy is easily defeated, a threat that would not materialize if Texas were to adopt ranked choice voting.
I hope Paxton wins, but I’ve already gotten text messages asking for money for this campaign, and I don’t live in Texas. Immediately blocked.
I’m not giving money to politicians. Period. Dead stop. Ever again. In any amount. They’ve done nothing but disappoint over the years. It’s all just tossing money down a black hole.
The most I will ever give a politician is my vote. That’s my limit.
“… if Paxton wins the primary or ever looks sure to win it, Cornyn goes 3rd party and hands the seat to the Democrats.”
Not sure he can do that in Texas. The deadline for ab independent candidate to file a declaration of intent is the same as for filing in a primary, so Cornyn would have to throw in the towel at a very early point to run as an independent. Not gonna happen.
In theory, he *could* file to be considered as a write in candidate after losing the primary, but that would be just silly.
“This vote splitting strategy is easily defeated, a threat that would not materialize if Texas were to adopt ranked choice voting.”
Ranked choice voting wrecked the Alaska Republican Party. It directly contradicts one man – one vote. It is designed to elect left wing candidates.
RCV is being pushed by Arnold Ventures and Unite America, two very left wing operations which masquerade as non partisan.
If you ever go to Houston
Better walk right
Keep your hands in your pockets
And your gun belt tight
If you’re asking for trouble
If you’re looking for a fight
If you ever go to Houston
Boy, you better walk right
If you’re ever down there
On back near Lamar
You better watch out for
The man with the shining star
Better know where you’re going
Or stay where you are
If you’re ever down there
On back near Lamar
—If You Ever Go to Houston, Bob Dylan