Texas Attorney General and Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton arrives to speak at a runoff election night event on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, in Plano, Texas, USA.
Antranik Tavitian | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in Tuesday’s Republican Senate runoff elections, a week after President Donald Trump endorsed his challenger over the objections of Senate leadership.
Paxton will face Democratic state Rep. James Talarico in the November general election. The race is expected to be one of the most expensive in the nation, as Republicans aim to maintain their Senate majority and Democrats seek to win a long-coveted Senate seat in Texas.
The result makes Mr. Cornyn the latest victim of Mr. Trump’s campaign against members of his own party who he deems insufficiently supportive of Mr. Trump, and cements the president’s role in shaping Republican candidates for the 2026 midterm elections.
Democrats, who believe they can win the state Paxton has long sought to overturn because of Paxton’s extensive ethical and legal problems, jubilated after the race was called.
“While Republicans face a nightmare scenario, tonight Democrats are one step closer to winning the Senate majority, with Texas on track to send James Talarico to the Senate in November,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D.Y.) and Democratic Senate Campaign Chair Kirsten Gillibrand (D.Y.) said in a statement.
State Representative James Talarico, a Texas Democrat and U.S. Senate candidate, speaks at the kickoff event for his “Take Back Texas” tour in Austin, Texas, U.S., Tuesday, February 17, 2026.
Joel Angel Juarez | Bloomberg | Getty Images
“Ken Paxton is so corrupt that even his own party tried to remove him from office. During his tenure as Attorney General, Paxton and his wealthy donors have profited at the expense of Texas families while criminals have been left alone,” they said.
President Trump has made defeating his political opponents within the Republican Party a priority for his second term. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) failed to qualify for the runoff election in Louisiana in early May after President Trump endorsed his opponent in the primary. Additionally, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky), a frequent Trump foil during his second term, lost in the primary to Trump-backed challenger Ed Gullane.
Mr. Trump’s endorsement of Mr. Paxton last week shocked the Republican-controlled Senate, which poured significant resources into Mr. Cornyn’s re-election. Mr. Cornyn has taken extensive steps to repair his long-strained relationship with Mr. Trump.
The Texas Republican primary was one of the most confusing of the 2026 election cycle. Mr. Cornyn’s campaign has slammed Mr. Paxton, an ally of President Trump, over a number of ethical and legal scandals that have plagued him and his office during his tenure as the Lone Star State’s top law enforcement official.
Mr. Paxton was impeached by the Texas House of Representatives, acquitted by the Senate, and faces charges of securities fraud. He recently divorced his wife on “biblical grounds.”
Meanwhile, Paxton’s campaign has tried to cast Mr. Cornyn as a longtime Washington establishment figure.
Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas speaks at a runoff election night event on Tuesday, May 26, 2026 in Austin, Texas, United States.
Kayley Greenlee | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Mr. Cornyn is an incumbent who has held important positions in the Senate for four terms. He served as the Senate’s second-ranking Republican from 2013 to 2019. Although he ran for Senate Republican leader in 2024 and lost to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, he remains popular with his colleagues. Senate Republicans believe Mr. Cornyn will be a tougher and cheaper challenger to Mr. Talarico in the general election.
Cornyn was a trusted vote in the White House throughout President Trump’s second term. But Mr. Cornyn would be freed from the electoral consequences of opposing the president and could be a key swing vote in a chamber that Republicans control by just three votes.
Mr. Paxton was the front-runner with a high chance of rising to the top in the primary after supporting Mr. Trump. A Quantus Insights poll released Monday found Mr. Paxton leading Mr. Cornyn by 9.3 points ahead of Election Day.
President Trump endorsed Paxton on Truth Social, saying Cornyn was “a good person and I worked well with him, but he didn’t support me in tough times.”
“Ken Paxton has faced great injustice on many occasions, but he is a fighter and he knows how to win,” the president said. “Our country needs fighters, and we also need loyalty to a great cause.”
Elsewhere in Texas, longtime Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) lost to freshman Rep. Christian Menefee (D-Texas) after redistricting placed him in the same district. Greene was known for disrupting President Trump’s recent speech to Congress.
