Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has defeated four-term incumbent Senator John Cornyn in the Texas Republican primary runoff for the U.S. Senate. The election took place amid an internal leadership struggle within the state party between traditional conservatives and populists aligned with the MAGA movement. National Republican officials are expressing concern over the nomination due to the financial demands of defending the seat in a highly expensive media market.
Paxton secured approximately 64% of the vote to finalize his victory over Cornyn. According to a report by Texas Public Radio, this marks the first time a primary challenger has successfully unseated an incumbent U.S. senator from Texas since 1970. The outcome followed a late endorsement from former President Donald Trump, who targeted Cornyn for disloyalty, as detailed in coverage of the Ken Paxton Texas Senate runoff. The result shows how Ken Paxton unseats John Cornyn in Texas Republican primary runoff voting, changing the upcoming general election dynamics.
The victory comes despite Paxton carrying significant legal and personal vulnerabilities that party strategists fear could drain national campaign resources. Paxton previously faced a 2023 state House impeachment over abuse of office, though the state Senate later acquitted him. Additionally, he remains the subject of an FBI investigation initiated by his own senior staff and resolved a 2015 felony securities fraud indictment with a $300,000 settlement in 2024. His wife has also filed for divorce on biblical grounds.
Paxton will face Democratic state Representative James Talarico in the November general election. Talarico, a 37-year-old former teacher and Presbyterian seminarian, has already broken state fundraising records for the seat. Minutes after the race was called, Talarico released a campaign advertisement calling Paxton the most corrupt politician in America, a development noted by The Financial Times.
National party strategists estimate that protecting the seat will require tens of millions of dollars that would otherwise go to competitive battleground states. The last competitive Texas Senate race cost over $75 million, and party leaders worry that Paxton lacks the broad centrist appeal that previously aided Cornyn. The election results were officially confirmed by state officials after the final ballots were counted.