Ken Paxton scored a major victory Tuesday night, defeating longtime Sen. John Cornyn in a bitter Republican runoff that became one of the most expensive Senate primaries in history.
According to Fox News, the result marked another major win for President Donald Trump, who endorsed Paxton just days before the runoff and aggressively targeted Cornyn as “VERY disloyal.”
Paxton will now face Democratic state Rep. James Talarico in November in a closely watched race that could impact Republicans’ narrow Senate majority.
Cornyn conceded after the race was called and pledged to support the GOP ticket in the general election.
“I’ve always supported the Republican ticket, and I intend to do so again in this general election,” Cornyn told reporters.
The Texas runoff became the latest test of Trump’s dominance inside the Republican Party as he continues reshaping GOP politics through endorsements and primary challenges.
Trump threw his support behind Paxton after remaining neutral for months.
“Ken is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate,” Trump wrote in a social media post last week.
The president also criticized Cornyn for failing to back him sooner during past campaigns.
“John Cornyn is a good man, and I worked well with him, but he was not supportive of me when times were tough,” Trump said.
Paxton leaned heavily into that argument throughout the campaign, accusing Cornyn of opposing Trump’s agenda on immigration and in past elections.
“John Cornyn fought Trump on the border,” Paxton said during an appearance on Fox News’ “The Big Weekend Show.”
“He fought him in 2024, said his time had passed, and he fought him in 2016.”
Cornyn pushed back repeatedly, arguing that he had supported Trump’s agenda nearly all the time during his Senate career.
“I don’t know how much more with him I could be than 99.3% of the time,” Cornyn told Fox News Digital before the runoff.
The race also highlighted concerns within the GOP over Paxton’s long list of controversies and legal battles.
Paxton was impeached by the Texas House in 2023 before later being acquitted by the state Senate.
He has also faced public scrutiny surrounding his ongoing divorce.
Cornyn warned throughout the campaign that Paxton’s baggage could make Republicans vulnerable in November, especially against Talarico, a rising Democrat who raised massive amounts of campaign cash earlier this year.
“There will be an incredible tsunami of Democratic funds coming in against Paxton,” Cornyn predicted before Tuesday’s vote.
Despite those warnings, Republican voters ultimately sided with Trump and Paxton in a race that underscored the president’s continued influence over the GOP base.
