Ken Paxton defeated John Cornyn in the Texas election, and November’s election could decide control of the U.S. Senate.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, backed by President Donald Trump, defeated four-term Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican Senate primary runoff, according to US media projections.
The results, released by Fox News and CNN shortly after polls closed on Tuesday, underscored Trump’s continued influence over the Republican Party and dealt a major blow to the party’s establishment in Washington, D.C.
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Cornyn, a longtime establishment conservative and former Republican, has represented Texas in the Senate since 2002 and entered the race as a favorite with support from major donors and Republican leaders.
But the senator struggled to connect with Trump’s political base.
Cornyn has previously criticized Trump and angered some conservatives by supporting bipartisan gun control after the 2022 Uvalde school shooting, but Paxton has billed himself as one of Trump’s staunchest allies.
Trump’s support reshaped the race, making Cornyn the latest Republican incumbent to lose the president’s support.
“We just came up a notch tonight,” Cornyn told reporters after the race.
“I have always supported the Republican ticket,” he said, adding, “I will do so again.”
With this defeat, Cornyn became the first Republican senator from Texas to lose his re-election bid and is likely to end his Senate career next year.
“Tonight, we just made history,” Paxton told cheering supporters, praising Trump’s support as “the most powerful force in politics.”
This month, President Trump’s support for Republican primary challengers led to the ouster of incumbents, including Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy and Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie.
Controversy and midterm elections
Paxton has faced legal, ethical and personal controversies over the years, including his 2023 impeachment by the Republican-led Texas House of Representatives, allegations of bribery and fraud, and a high-profile divorce.
The 63-year-old was later acquitted by the Texas Senate, but has repeatedly dismissed the allegations against him as politically motivated attacks.
Paxton will now face Democratic state Rep. James Talarico in the November election, potentially giving him control of the Senate.
Mr. Talarico, 37, attracts moderates and independent voters, but some Republicans are privately concerned that Mr. Paxton, despite his popularity with Trump supporters, will struggle in the general election.
A Republican Senate campaign memo circulated last year warned that Paxton’s nomination would give Democrats a rare opportunity to flip Texas and could force Republicans to spend billions to defend a seat long considered safe.
“Without a shadow of a doubt, I will be the Democratic Party’s No. 1 target in November,” Paxton said.
The candidate also urged supporters to donate to his campaign, predicting that Talarico “will raise more money than any other Democrat in America.”
“If Republicans lose this state, we will lose our country,” Paxton warned.
Within minutes of Paxton being declared the winner of the U.S. Senate Republican primary runoff, Democrats called him “America’s most corrupt politician” in a social media post.
“He embodies the broken system we face,” Talarico wrote in X.
In another post, he urged Cornyn’s supporters to vote for him.
“You have a place to join our campaign,” Talarico wrote.
