Ken Paxton Defeats John Cornyn for U.S. Senate GOP Nomination

By Gabby Birenbaum / The Texas Tribune

AUSTIN, TX — Attorney General Ken Paxton won the Republican primary runoff for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, ending over three decades of Sen. John Cornyn’s electoral dominance in what amounts to a watershed moment for GOP politics in Texas.

The outcome sets up a general election matchup between Paxton and Austin state Rep. James Talarico. 

The attorney general received Trump’s backing a week before election day, providing him with a significant boost after both candidates spent a year lobbying for it. 

In a cycle that has already seen notable incumbents in both parties go down nationally, Cornyn’s loss is a political earthquake. Cornyn has been an elected official for over 40 years, rising from district judge to Texas Supreme Court justice to Texas attorney general to the U.S. Senate. 

First elected to the Senate in 2002, Cornyn ascended the GOP ranks, serving as Senate Republican whip — the No. 2 position in the conference — from 2013 to 2019. 

The senior senator had never lost a race in his career. He successfully navigated the transition from the Bush era, when he was first federally elected, to the tea party to the first Trump era of Republican politics.

In a concession speech early Tuesday evening, Cornyn did not mention Paxton by name but reiterated his pledge to support “the Republican ticket.” He also quoted Teddy Roosevelt — “It’s not the critic that counts … The credit belongs to the man who’s actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and blood and sweat” — and the Apostle Paul: “I fought the good fight. I finished the race, I kept the faith.”

Cornyn also ticked through his accomplishments in office, from contributing to the passage of “historic tax reform bills” to removing red tape to “helping put hundreds of conservative judges on the federal bench.”

Paxton has racked up his own share of legal accomplishments thwarting the Biden administration’s policies. On Tuesday, he defeated one of the most successful politicians in Texas GOP history and a key figure in the Republican establishment in Washington. Had Cornyn won the primary and gone on to serve a fifth term, he would have set a Texas senatorial record for longevity. Instead, he becomes the first senator in Texas history to lose to a member of his own party since Ralph Yarbrough in 1970.

“Tonight, we just sent a Texas-sized message to Washington,” Paxton said.

Tuesday’s runoff also demonstrates the limits of money in politics. Cornyn significantly outraised Paxton throughout the race, and pro-Cornyn forces outspent the pro-Paxton side by a factor of close to nine to one overall, and over three to one during the runoff. 

As Paxton’s victory appeared imminent, the National Republican Senatorial Committee put out a statement bashing Talarico.

“A state President Trump won by nearly 14 points isn’t going to elect James Talarico — a radical leftist who thinks God is nonbinary and that Texas should be a welcome mat for illegals,” NRSC regional press secretary Samantha Cantrell said. “He is the most dangerous flank of the far left. Texas isn’t swapping brisket for open borders.”

Daniel Hayworth, Paxton’s son-in-law and a pastor at a non-denominational church in Central Texas, led a prayer at Paxton’s watch party in which he said, “We ask that your hand of blessing would be upon the campaign as they continue on to fight against James Talarico, who twists your word and spits upon your name.”

Talarico, meanwhile, issued a statement welcoming Cornyn’s supporters into the Democratic tent, foreshadowing the skirmish in the coming months to win over the highly coveted voting bloc.

“I want to thank Senator John Cornyn for his years representing our state,” Talarico said. “ We don’t agree on everything, but we both still believe in public service. To Senator Cornyn’s supporters: you have a place in our campaign.”

Paxton, too, made overtures to Cornyn’s voters, thanking the senator for his years of service to the state.

“Tonight is not the end of the campaign,” Paxton said. “Tonight is the beginning of the fight to preserve every value we hold dear. The future of Texas and the future of America is on the line. And I intend to do everything I can to expand our movement.”