Ken Paxton defeats John Cornyn in Texas Republican Senate runoff

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in Texas’ Republican Senate runoff on May 26, a major upset that ended Cornyn’s bid for another term and made Paxton the GOP nominee for the Nov. 3 general election against Democratic nominee James Talarico.

The Associated Press called the race Tuesday evening, and Cornyn conceded soon afterward. Unofficial election-night returns reported by regional outlets from the Texas results feed showed Paxton winning by a wide margin, with about 63.9% to Cornyn’s 36.1% — roughly 877,286 votes to 495,053 votes. Those totals were unofficial and could change slightly when the state completes its canvass.

The runoff was required because no Republican candidate won more than 50% in the March 3 primary. In that first round, Cornyn had finished ahead of Paxton, 42.0% to 40.5%, according to the state results summary, with 910,382 votes to 878,564. Paxton’s runoff victory marked a reversal from that earlier result and capped an unusually high-profile renomination fight for a sitting senator.

The loss was historically significant. According to AP, Cornyn is the first Republican senator from Texas to lose his party’s nomination for reelection. Cornyn, first elected to the Senate in 2002, is a longtime figure in Texas and national Republican politics and a former member of Senate GOP leadership, making his defeat a rare setback for an established incumbent.

Paxton, a Trump-aligned conservative who has served for years as Texas attorney general, got a boost from President Donald Trump’s endorsement on May 19, about a week before the runoff. In his victory speech, Paxton credited that backing, saying, “When everyone in Washington told him to abandon me and abandon the people of Texas, he didn’t listen. President Trump is the leader of our party, and his endorsement is the most powerful force in politics.” Cornyn, in conceding, said he supported “the Republican ticket,” according to The Texas Tribune.

Paxton now advances to the November general election against James Talarico, a state representative who won the Democratic primary outright in March. Paxton enters that race as one of the state’s best-known Republicans, but also after a turbulent recent chapter: The Texas House impeached him in 2023, and the Texas Senate acquitted him later that year.