1 of 4 | Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, seen here outside the U.S. Supreme Court in November 2021, was poised Tuesday night to defeat Sen. John Cornyn in a GOP primary runoff election. File Photo by Tasos Katopodis/UPI | License Photo
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the far-right, scandal-plagued ally of President Donald Trump, defeated four-term U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in a Republican primary runoff for Cornyn’s seat on Tuesday night.
With nearly three-quarters of Texas’ 254 counties reporting as of 8 p.m. CDT, Paxton had secured 62.4% of the more than 685,400 ballots cast, compared to Cornyn’s 37.4%, according to unofficial state results.
Cornyn, the 74-year-old Republican who has held a Texas Senate seat since 2002, edged Paxton by a percentage point in the March 3 primary. Neither candidate reached 50% of the vote, necessitating Tuesday’s runoff.
With the primary runoff victory, Paxton will face Rep. James Talarico, D-Texas, for the Senate seat in November.
“Tonight, we just sent a Texas-size message to Washington,” Paxton told supporters during his victory speech.
“I said it in March and I’ll say it again now: Today, change was on the ballot and change won.”
Cornyn has conceded defeat.
“I’ve said throughout this race that I trust the voters of Texas, and they’ve made their decision and I must respect it,” he told supporters in his concession speech.
Paxton, 63, frequently challenged Biden administration policies and was given Trump’s endorsement about a week before the primary election. Trump has called Paxton a “True MAGA warrior.”
The president has also been critical of Cornyn for being on the fence about Trump during his 2016 campaign and saying Trump’s “time has passed him by” in 2024.
Paxton announced his campaign in April 2025, criticizing Cornyn’s disloyalty to Trump, saying he would fight for the president, Texas and Republican values. He has taken a hardline stance on social and cultural-war issues, from abortion, enforcing the state’s aggressive restrictions, to being vocally in opposition to gender-affirming care.
However, scandal has followed him for much of his political career, which began in 2002, when he was elected to the Texas House. It has nearly derailed his career several times, including in 2015, when he was indicted on state securities-fraud charges, and again in 2023, when the Texas House impeached him on 20 articles that included bribery, abuse of office, retaliation against whistleblowers and obstruction of justice.
A federal civil securities-fraud case brought against him by the SEC was dismissed by a federal in 2017. He later reached a pretrial agreement in the state criminal case, which was dismissed after he completed its terms. The Texas Senate acquitted him in September 2023 on the impeachment articles.
“It is now time for Texas Republican voters to decide if they want a strong nominee to help our GOP candidates down ballot and defeat Talarico in November, or a weak nominee who jeopardizes everything we care about,” Cornyn said.
As Paxton runs for Cornyn’s Senate seat, the role of attorney general is up for grabs between Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and state Sen. Mayes Middleton. Paxton has held the attorney general’s office since 2015.
Trump has not weighed in on the race between Roy and Middleton. Roy has often backed Trump policies but has broken from the president in key moments, including after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Roy alleged that Trump had committed “clearly impeachable conduct.” He did not vote to impeach Trump for a second time, though.
Longtime Democratic Rep. Al Green was defeated in a runoff election for the District 18 seat by 38-year-old Christian Menefee. Green, 78, has represented the Houston-area 9th Congressional District since 2005, but Republican-led redistricting under Trump’s encouragement dismantled his long-held seat.
According to unofficial state results, Menefee secured more than 68% of the vote.
Cryptocurrency was a key issue in the race between Green and Menefee. An industry-aligned super PAC spent about $5 million in support of Menefee.
This week in Washington
Kevin Warsh takes the oath of office as he is sworn-in as the new chairman of the Federal Reserve by Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas in the East Room of the White House on Friday. Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI | License Photo
