PLANO, Texas (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, easily defeating four-term Sen. John Cornyn in the latest contest where President Donald Trump sought to oust an incumbent he saw as not sufficiently loyal.
Trump endorsed Paxton last week, calling him a “true MAGA warrior." Paxton's victory in Tuesday’s runoff makes Cornyn — who was first elected to the Senate in 2002 — the first Republican senator from Texas to lose the party’s nomination for reelection.
Cheers rang through the ballroom at Paxton's election night party when the race was called, as the stage filled with supporters holding Paxton campaign signs.
Paxton took the stage to chants of “Ken, Ken, Ken," and he quickly gave credit to Trump.
“When everyone in Washington told him to abandon me and abandon the people of Texas, he didn’t listen," Paxton said. "President Trump is the leader of our party, and his endorsement is the most powerful force in politics.”
Cornyn's loss followed primaries this month where Trump successfully backed challengers to Republican incumbents in Louisiana, Kentucky and Indiana, a sign of his enduring influence among primary voters. He has sought to punish Republicans he feels aren't supportive enough of his agenda.
In stark contrast to Paxton's celebrations, Cornyn gave a short concession speech tinged with emotion to a room of only reporters.
“Tonight we’ve come up short,” Cornyn said, adding that he’d support Paxton in the general election. “I’ve always supported the Republican ticket and I intend to do so again.”
Cornyn said in 2023 as Trump was running to return to the White House that his time “has passed him by," a statement that came back to bite him. He also was an early critic of Trump’s plan for a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico — a project he now supports.
Cornyn’s campaign and allied groups spent roughly $109 million on advertising for the March 3 primary and Tuesday's runoff. He had the backing of Senate GOP leaders who said he would be the stronger general election candidate against Democratic nominee state Rep. James Talarico in November.
Democrats see Talarico as a rare opportunity to win a statewide race in Texas, which isn't lost on Paxton.
“Without a shadow of a doubt, I will be the Democrats’ number one target in November,” he said in his victory speech, along with an attack on Talarico.
Tuesday's runoffs also will decide Democratic U.S. House nominees for districts in Dallas and Houston that overwhelmingly support Democrats, and a San Antonio-area seat the party wants to flip.
The primary was long and costly
Cornyn led Paxton in the March primary but failed to win a majority. That was after Cornyn and his supporters waged a monthslong ad campaign, mostly attacking Paxton over ethical and personal questions. The two-term attorney general was acquitted on corruption charges in a 2023 impeachment trial, where allegations of extramarital affairs surfaced. Paxton’s wife filed for divorce last year, citing “biblical grounds.”
The alliance of pro-Cornyn groups continued its attack, outspending Paxton's campaign and two allied super PACs $16.5 million to $5.9 million since March 3, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact.
Trump promised to endorse immediately after the primary but didn’t act until after early voting began last week.
“Ken Paxton has gone through a lot, in many cases, very unfairly, but he is a Fighter, and knows how to win,” Trump wrote in a social media post endorsing him.
David Jacobson, a retired 70-year-old Dallas-area resident, said Trump's endorsement was a factor in his decision to back Paxton on Tuesday. While Cornyn has for the most part been a strong Trump supporter, Jacobson generally thinks most politicians have remained in office too long.
“Maybe it’s time for a change,” he said after voting near Dallas.
Linda Williams said she voted for Cornyn, calling him “the lesser of two evils.” She thinks Cornyn has a better chance to beat Talarico this fall.
“Because Paxton is a crook," Williams said after voting in Plano, outside Dallas.
Trump snubbed Cornyn amid retribution campaign
Trump, in his endorsement, poked at Cornyn, saying he “was not supportive of me when times were tough” and that “John was very late in backing me.”
Cornyn said Tuesday on Fox News Radio's “The Brian Kilmeade Show” that the president's ire was misplaced. There are “grifters," he said, "claiming that I am opposed to the president's agenda, and I think that’s caused some confusion with the president himself. But I’ve been supportive.”
Some GOP strategists have argued that a Paxton nomination would cost millions of dollars more to promote in the fall, when money could be spent defending Republican seats in more competitive states. Democrats need to gain a net of four seats to take the majority. Cornyn had the support of Senate GOP leaders.
Democrats also will choose US House nominees
Newly elected Rep. Christian Menefee defeated veteran Rep. Al Green in Texas' 18th District, dispatching a longtime House incumbent who was one of Trump's most outspoken critics. The Republican-led Texas Legislature redrew the district when it approved a new House map last year. The new map led to a runoff between incumbents and marks the end of a dizzying series of elections in the Houston area.
Former Rep. Colin Allred and U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson are competing in the Dallas-area 33rd District. Johnson was elected to the seat in 2024, the year Allred lost his U.S. Senate challenge to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. Allred was running for Senate again this cycle but dropped his bid and instead is looking to return to the House.
Near San Antonio, Democratic leaders are trying to prevent Maureen Galindo, who has expressed antisemitic views, from winning the party's runoff with Johnny Garcia. While Texas lawmakers redrew the 35th District to help Republicans, Democrats view it as within reach and don't want Galindo's past comments to impede them.
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