John Cornyn and Ken Paxton will advance to a runoff in Texas’ US Senate Republican primary

(CNN) — Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will advance to a May 26 runoff in the state’s Republican primary for US Senate, extending an expensive and divisive clash that has drawn wide national attention.

As he seeks a fifth term in the Senate, Cornyn is facing the greatest pressure of his political career over his standing in the GOP and his perceived loyalty to President Donald Trump. Paxton’s checkered personal history presents its own complications.

Neither Cornyn nor Paxton will surpass the 50 percent needed in Tuesday’s primary to avoid a runoff. US Rep. Wesley Hunt, who launched a Senate bid in October, will not advance.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Cornyn said that “judgment day is coming for Ken Paxton” later adding, “I’ve worked for decades to build the Republican Party, both here in Texas and nationally. I refuse to allow a flawed, self-centered and shameless candidate like Ken Paxton risk everything we’ve worked so hard to build over these many years.”

Paxton told his supporters, “We just sent a message loud and clear to Washington – We are not going to go quietly, and we are not going to let you buy the seat.”

Trump did not endorse a candidate prior to Tuesday’s primary. The president’s potential choice could be decisive in a runoff, with allies of both candidates expected to push the White House to limit damage to the eventual nominee as Democrats nationwide see a surge of enthusiasm.

And while Democrats haven’t won a statewide race in Texas since the 1990s, the party is emboldened heading into this fall’s midterms, having already flipped a longtime GOP-held state Senate seat in Fort Worth this year.

Why John Cornyn is under threat

Cornyn is a conservative with a long history in Texas Republican politics, serving on the state Supreme Court and as the state’s attorney general before his election to the Senate in 2002. He previously served as the Senate Republican whip and lost a bid for the top Senate leadership position in 2024 to Sen. John Thune of South Dakota.

But his relationship with President Donald Trump has been fractious at times. Notably, he criticized the president’s actions on January 6, 2021, calling Trump’s language around the riot “reckless.”

He has also fended off criticism from many state Republicans for his work with Democrats. He was booed at a Texas GOP convention in 2022 for his role in negotiating a gun safety package. Trump called him a “RINO” – a “Republican in name only” – on Truth Social.

In 2023, Trump predicted Cornyn would lose his next reelection campaign, linking him to someone far more critical of the president in public.

“Who is a worse Senator, John ‘The Stiff’ Cornyn of Texas, or Mitt ‘The Loser’ Romney of Massachusetts (Utah?)?” Trump wrote then on social media. “They are both weak, ineffective, and very bad for the Republican Party, and our Nation. With even modestly skilled opposition, they’ll lose their next Election.”

Romney declined to seek reelection in 2024. Cornyn pushed forward.

Ken Paxton enters the race

Many national Republicans and allies of Thune believe Cornyn is their safest bet on retaining the Senate seat in reliably red Texas. But Paxton, the three-term state attorney general, has a record of backing Trump – notably on his debunked claims of election fraud that preceded January 6 – and strong ties to the state Republican grassroots. Turning Point Action, an affiliate of the organization co-founded by Charlie Kirk, endorsed Paxton in the primary.

Paxton launched his campaign last April after years of open feuding with Cornyn. He has linked Cornyn to the “DC establishment” and promoted investigations his office launched against a development connected to a Dallas-area mosque, advocates for immigrants, and organizations with alleged ties to China’s Communist Party.

He and Hunt both ran hard against the veteran incumbent and criticized Cornyn’s efforts at bipartisanship during former President Joe Biden’s administration.

“Trump is right: pro-amnesty John Cornyn is a weak RINO,” says an ad from one group opposing him.

Paxton has his own baggage. He was impeached by the Texas House in a Republican-driven investigation over corruption allegations in 2023, followed by an acquittal in the state Senate. He’s been the subject of multiple investigations over the years without facing criminal charges.

Paxton’s personal life has provided additional fodder– his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, announced last July on social media that she had “filed for divorce on biblical grounds,” a comment quickly featured in outside group attack ads.

Cornyn has said he will spend tens of millions before the May runoff to highlight those scandals in hopes of driving down Paxton’s poll numbers.

“After we get through with the attorney general” in a runoff, Cornyn told CNN recently, “he’s going to be unelectable.”

Hunt doesn’t advance

Hunt, meanwhile, had never won a statewide election in Texas and was rebuffed by national party leaders anxious to avoid a three-way primary.

He told CNN last year that Cornyn’s weakness with the Republican base and the concerns about Paxton gave him an opening.

“The people of Texas are looking for an alternative, and it’s absolutely my job to give them one,” he said then.

This story has been updated with additional information.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.