Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is preparing to challenge Sen. John Cornyn, who could become the most troublesome and most expensive Republican showdown of the 2026 election.
In an interview Tuesday in Dallas, Paxton approached declaring a candidate, suggesting the first law he would propose if he was elected to the Senate, explaining why he felt he could do more in Washington, D.C. than in Texas.
“I think there’s a lot we can do at the federal level,” Paxton said. “Trump can use help and have a senator who is actually supportive and uncritical.”
When asked how he would run, Paxton began answering questions. He then reminded him from the campaign consultant that he hadn’t decided to officially run yet.
“Yes,” Paxton said.
The potential for a primary between Paxton and Cornyn has grown in recent months. It’s probably the biggest election showdown in an ongoing war between the old Texas Republican security guard and the fierce social conservative dominant wing alongside Paxton and President Trump.
The looming conflict is one of the worst secrets in Texas politics.
“Good luck in your primary, John.” Posted by Colin Allredwho challenged Sen. Ted Cruz, a former Democrat representative in Dallas, last year, and said he is considering joining the Senate race in 2026.
In his third term, Paxton is now increasingly speaking up for his criticism of Cornin, yelling at him on social media and yelling at him in recent interviews With Tucker Carlson.
The Attorney General and legal firefighters have been supported by his thoughts on the Senate Senate through internal Republican votes, which show that they have substantial advantages among the party’s leading voters.
A vote by Fabrizio, Lee & Associates, the companies used in the Trump campaign, found that Paxton was leading by Cornyn by a 25% point margin.
A poll conducted by Paxton’s allies about two months ago showed that Democrats also won the general election, but showed a small margin.
Internal polling result matched In nonpartisan opinion polls From the University of Houston in February, more Republicans would “definitely consider” Paxton’s votes over Cornyn, indicating that Paxton was seen more positively among Republican voters than Cornyn.
Cornyn’s campaign did not make him available for interviews.
Cornyn, 73, has been involved in state politics for more than 30 years. The Texas Attorney General and a judge for the state Supreme Court, he was first elected to the Senate in 2002. Meanwhile, Texas became solid Republicans, and the party’s primary was becoming more and more important, with winners winning every statewide contest back to the 1990s.
The presence of old security guards that were useful from the Texas era of business-oriented conservatism made Cornyn a potential leader in the Senate majority. But after Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell retired from the post, Cornyn lost to South Dakota Sen. John Tune last year. Cornyn is no longer a Republican leader.
And the willingness to work across the aisles, including the package of gun control laws passed in the wake of the state’s worst school shooting at Uvalde in 2022, has infuriated many conservatives.
His approval evaluation among conservatives It dropped suddenly at that time. He was booed loudly that year while appearing in the Republican Party, a large number of activists at the Texas Congress.
Paxton, 62, recalled attending the convention – he was waiting to speak – and watched Cornyn give a speech during the boo.
“It clicked for me,” the Attorney General said. “I knew he had lost contact with voters.”
Cornyn officially announced his reelection campaign late last month. In the video It was leaning heavily on his actions on behalf of Trump.
“In President Trump’s first term, I gave my votes to his biggest victory with the Republican whip,” Cornyn said in the video. “Now I’m running for reelection and I’m looking for your support, so President Trump and I can pick up where we left off.”
The senator recently posted a photo of himself reading Trump’s book, The Art of the Deal. “Recommended.” The post said.
Paxton is appealing to frequently use his office to support Trump, support the president’s immigration enforcement efforts, and challenge the results of elections in four swing states in 2020. The Supreme Court abandoned the case.
As a potential senator, he asked if he might deal with the efforts made by Trump after his second term, Paxton said he wasn’t sure.
“My understanding is that there are two constitutional terms, but I am not an expert on that,” he said. “That may not come out. But he has to decide that he is going to have a third term, and we’ll address this issue.”
The President’s approval will be a vital moment for a race that is still undecided.
Paxton said in an interview with the Times at the Dallas Social Club that he was already talking to people on the presidential trajectory.
“I’m not talking to him in person,” he said. “I talked to people around him, and they are very aware of this ongoing possibility.”
He added that he heard “Nothing negative, that’s true.”
Certainly, things have been looking for Mr. Paxton recently.
For years he fought corruption investigations into his actions as attorney general and charges from another state for securities fraud. However, he won, survived the 2023 Malfunction Each Trial in the Texas Senate, and reached a settlement last year with criminal charges.
“This is not the way that should be done in our country,” Paxton said. “If you are elected, I don’t care if you are the most freer Democrat.
Paxton said his decision to officially declare his challenge depends on whether he believes he has enough money to take on the incumbent Senator. He said about $20 million should do that.
Respondents to the internal Fabrizio poll obtained by the New York Times were unaware of the legal and ethical questions that have followed Paxton for much of his career.
When respondents were asked about the issues and behaviors most relevant to Paxton, the biggest responses included “border security” and “corruption/fraud/con artist/liar.”
For Cornyn, the highest period associated with him highlighted the challenges of the increasingly conservative Texas Republican major election: “rino” – that is, only the names of Republicans.
