Trump-Backed Paxton Beats Cornyn in Texas Senate Runoff With 62 Percent

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated four-term Sen. John Cornyn in Tuesday’s Republican Senate runoff, winning 62 percent of the vote when The Associated Press called the race, according to Newsweek. Al Jazeera reported that Fox News and CNN also called it quickly after polls closed. Mr. Cornyn is the first Texas Republican senator to lose his party’s renomination, Al Jazeera said.

President Trump endorsed Mr. Paxton on May 19, calling him “a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas” and saying Mr. Cornyn was “not supportive of me when times were tough,” Newsweek reported. Newsweek noted that on the Sunday before the runoff Mr. Trump wrote that Mr. Paxton’s opponent “was VERY disloyal to me, as President,” and said Mr. Cornyn had not fought hard enough for the SAVE America Act. Neither candidate reached 50 percent in the March 3 primary, which forced the runoff, Newsweek reported.

“Tonight, we just made history,” Mr. Paxton said, calling Mr. Trump’s endorsement “the most powerful force in politics,” Al Jazeera reported. Mr. Cornyn said, “Tonight, we’ve come up short,” and that he had “always supported the Republican ticket.” Al Jazeera noted that Mr. Trump’s endorsements this month also helped oust Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy and Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie.

The result is a blow to Senate Republican leadership. Majority Leader John Thune had lobbied Mr. Trump to endorse Mr. Cornyn, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee spent tens of millions on his campaign, Newsweek reported. Mr. Cornyn won most institutional endorsements, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Texas Farm Bureau, and outspent Mr. Paxton by roughly four to one, according to Newsweek. Mr. Paxton had the backing of the Republican Party of Texas and Turning Point Action, which mobilized its youth organizing network, the outlet said. Newsweek reported that Mr. Paxton said he would consider dropping out if Senate leaders eliminated the filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act, and that Mr. Trump later said Mr. Paxton would work hard to pass the bill while Mr. Cornyn had not supported it enough. Senate Republican leaders oppose eliminating the filibuster, Newsweek said.

Mr. Paxton, 63, was impeached by the Texas House in 2023 and later acquitted by the Texas Senate; he calls the allegations politically motivated, Al Jazeera reported. Al Jazeera said Mr. Cornyn angered some conservatives by supporting bipartisan gun legislation after the 2022 Uvalde shooting. A Republican Senate campaign memo circulated last year warned that a Paxton nomination could give Democrats a chance to flip Texas, Al Jazeera reported.

In November, Mr. Paxton faces Democratic state Rep. James Talarico, 37, who has attracted moderate and independent voters, Al Jazeera reported. Mr. Talarico called Mr. Paxton “the most corrupt politician in America” in a social media post and told Mr. Cornyn’s supporters, “You have a place in our campaign.” Democrats have not won a statewide race in Texas since 1994, Newsweek noted. Mr. Paxton said he would be “the Democrats’ number one target in November.”

On Wednesday, Mr. Thune told radio host Hugh Hewitt that the party must “pivot and go all-in to make sure that we keep Texas red,” said voters would see how far left Mr. Talarico is, and said “losing is not an option when it comes to the state of Texas and what it means for our majority in the Senate,” Newsweek reported. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority, Newsweek said.