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Texas voters on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to move on from longtime incumbent senator John Cornyn (R-TX), handing the longtime incumbent a devastating defeat and delivering a sharp rebuke to the Republican establishment in Washington.<\/span><\/p>\n The race was called for Ken Paxton, who went into election day with the backing of President Donald Trump, immediately as the polls closed in Texas. Paxton, the state’s current attorney general, was ahead by 25 percentage points.<\/span><\/p>\n Paxton’s landslide victory deals a major blow to the Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), who repeatedly urged Trump to back Cornyn, a four-term senator and longtime fixture in GOP leadership. Cornyn previously chaired the National Republican Senatorial Committee and served as Senate Majority Whip.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSen. Cornyn is a principled conservative. He is a very effective senator for the state of Texas, but none of us control what the president does,\u201d Thune said of Trump\u2019s 11th-hour endorsement. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t change the way I feel.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Q: “How personally disappointed or frustrated are you with the president’s decision to endorse Ken Paxton today?”<\/p>\n .@LeaderJohnThune<\/a>: “Sen. Cornyn is a principled conservative. He is a very effective senator for the state of Texas\u2026None of us control what the president does.” pic.twitter.com\/5QglYxRp1V<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 CSPAN (@cspan) May 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Cornyn is the latest incumbent \u2014 and second senator to fall \u2014 amid Trump\u2019s campaign to purge Republicans he views as disloyal to his agenda. In recent weeks, the Trump endorsement has led to losses by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and a handful of Indiana Republicans who bucked the president\u2019s redistricting effort.<\/span><\/p>\n Paxton has emerged as a fierce MAGA firebrand on a range of issues, using his office to protect <\/span>women\u2019s sports,<\/span><\/a> defend Texas A&M\u2019s <\/span>decision<\/span><\/a> to ban a campus drag show, and <\/span>prosecute<\/span><\/a> a woman who performed illegal abortions.<\/span><\/p>\n With all eyes on Texas, <\/span>Trump ended months of suspense last Tuesday and threw his political clout behind Paxton.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cKen is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate,\u201d <\/span>Trump said on Truth Social<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cJohn Cornyn is a good man, and I worked well with him, but he was not supportive of me when times were tough,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n On the campaign trail, Paxton seized the moment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI am so honored to have President Trump\u2019s endorsement,\u201d Paxton said. \u201cWhen he endorses, it has a tremendous impact\u2026I think it creates a slight bit of momentum, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Texas AG & U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton (R) speaks after receiving President Trump’s endorsement: “When he endorses, it has a tremendous impact\u2026I think it creates a slight bit of momentum, don’t you?” pic.twitter.com\/cGFSrteLV4<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 CSPAN (@cspan) May 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n When neither Paxton nor Cornyn surpassed the 50% threshold in the initial vote \u2014 triggering a runoff \u2014 both campaigns stepped up an intense jockeying for Trump\u2019s support.<\/span><\/p>\n Paxton raised eyebrows for saying<\/a> he would consider dropping out of the race if the Senate passed the SAVE America Act.<\/span><\/p>\n “John Cornyn is a coward who has refused to support abolishing the filibuster to pass this bill,” Paxton said.<\/p>\n Cornyn wrote in a op-ed<\/span><\/a> that he had previously backed the \u201c60-vote threshold to protect the country,\u201d but said that \u201cwhen the reality on the ground changes, leaders must take stock and adapt.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The Senate\u2019s failure to pass the SAVE America Act appeared to sway Trump.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI know Ken well, have seen him tested at the highest and most difficult levels, and he is a WINNER! Ken is a Strong Supporter of TERMINATING THE FILIBUSTER and, very importantly, THE SAVE AMERICA ACT, something which polls at 87%, including Dumocrats, and yet can\u2019t seem to get approved,\u201d Trump said in his endorsement. \u201cPerhaps Ken can help move these important elements of Government forward\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Turning Point Action backed Paxton, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee spent millions supporting Cornyn.<\/span><\/p>\n Some party leaders worry Paxton \u2014 who was nearly convicted on <\/span>corruption-related impeachment charges<\/span><\/a> \u2014 could put a reliably Republican seat at risk. His wife filed for divorce in 2025, citing <\/span>adultery on “biblical grounds.”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n In November, Paxton will face off against Democratic candidate James Talarico, whom Trump recently ripped into as \u201cweird.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll tell you what I do think \u2014 I think the Democrats have a weird, a weird candidate. Six genders, a real hit on Jesus,\u201d <\/span>Trump told reporters on Air Force One.<\/span><\/a> \u201cI mean, this guy is bad news with his mask from relatively recently, and he\u2019s a vegan. He\u2019s a vegan. All of a sudden, he\u2019s not a vegan. He was a vegan, now all of a sudden he\u2019s not.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cTexas doesn\u2019t like vegans. I do believe either one of them will easily win the race. I think the candidate the Democrats have in Texas is a very flawed, very weak, very \u2014 I think he\u2019s a pathetic candidate, especially for Texas,\u201d the president added.<\/p>\n NEW AD:<\/p>\n Low T Talarico is too WEAK and WEIRD for Texas. #TXsen<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/B6wL7pto4S<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Lone Star Liberty PAC (@LoneStar_PAC) May 21, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Further down the Texas runoff ballot, Chip Roy, another Republican incumbent opposed by Donald Trump, was also defeated in his run for attorney general. Trump allies had blasted Roy in the final days of the campaign as “one of the most anti-Trump congressmen in the country.”<\/p>\n The winner, Mayes Middleton, had branded himself “MAGA Mayes” on the campaign trail and ran pledging to fight for Trump’s agenda if elected.<\/p>\n And in a final cherry on top for Trump from Tuesday night’s results, Democrat Al Green, who notably was removed from the chamber<\/a> for shouting down Trump’s State of the Union address, also fell to a primary challenge.<\/p>\n\n
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