Paxton defeats Cornyn 64-36 in Texas Senate GOP runoff
Cover image from thefederalist.com, which was analyzed for this article
Trump-endorsed Texas AG Ken Paxton defeated incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the GOP Senate runoff with about 64% of the vote. The result solidifies Trump's influence over the Republican Party and sets up a November matchup against Democrat James Talarico.
PoliticalOS
Wednesday, May 27, 2026 — Politics
Paxton’s 28-point primary victory over a longtime incumbent demonstrates clear preference among participating Republican voters for the Trump-endorsed candidate. The same record that helped Paxton win the nomination leaves the November race against Talarico more financially and politically exposed than it would have been under Cornyn.
What outlets missed
Several outlets omitted county-level shifts showing Paxton’s gains after the Trump endorsement or the precise historical comparison that Cornyn’s 28-point loss was the widest primary defeat for a sitting senator since 1978. Coverage rarely noted that nonpartisan rating services kept the seat in the “Likely Republican” category after the primary. Few pieces examined Paxton’s pre-endorsement polling lead or the simultaneous Democratic primary results in redrawn Texas House districts.
Texas voters handed incumbent Sen. John Cornyn his first electoral loss in more than four decades, choosing state Attorney General Ken Paxton as the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate. Paxton received roughly 64 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s runoff to Cornyn’s 36 percent, according to Associated Press tallies. The margin made Cornyn the first Texas Republican senator to lose a party nomination for reelection.
The outcome followed President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Paxton one week earlier. Trump had described Paxton as a “true MAGA warrior” and criticized Cornyn for insufficient loyalty. Paxton, who had trailed in the March primary, swept most counties that had favored Cornyn weeks earlier. Total spending in the race exceeded $130 million, the highest for any Senate primary on record.
Paxton will face Democratic state Rep. James Talarico in November. Talarico has raised more than $27 million this year. Paxton has raised about $7 million. Multiple Republican senators and the National Republican Senatorial Committee had backed Cornyn, citing his fundraising record and general-election strength. Cornyn told supporters after the result that he would support the Republican ticket.
Paxton has faced federal securities fraud charges that were settled in 2024, a 2023 impeachment by the Texas House on corruption allegations from which the state Senate acquitted him, and a divorce filing that included adultery claims. Cornyn made those issues central to his campaign. Paxton called Trump’s endorsement “the most powerful force in politics” after his victory.
The result follows Trump-backed primary wins against Sen. Bill Cassidy in Louisiana and Rep. Thomas Massie in Kentucky this month. It leaves the Texas Senate seat, long rated safely Republican, as a contest Democrats now view as more competitive.
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