U.S. Sen. John Cornyn addresses runoff: ‘Judgment day is coming for Ken Paxton’
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s “judgment day is coming,” U.S. Sen. John Cornyn told reporters on Election Night after advancing to a runoff.
Cornyn is seeking his fifth term in the U.S. Senate, after first being elected to Washington in 2002. He is in his toughest primary yet against a slate of candidates that included Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt. Cornyn had the lead over Paxton, as results continued to come in Tuesday, but as the night went on, it was increasingly clear there’d be a second round of voting.
“Elections are about choices and the choice in the Republican race for U.S. Senate is crystal clear,” Cornyn said. “I’ve worked for decades to build the Republican Party, both here in Texas and nationally. I refuse to allow a flawed, self-centered and shameless candidate like Ken Paxton risk everything we’ve worked so hard to build over these many years. There is simply too much at stake in this midterm election for our state and for our country.”
The incumbent senator did not hold a watch party, instead opting for a press conference-type event at a downtown Austin hotel. Soon after he took the mic, Cornyn declared “we’re on to the runoff.”
Cornyn said that if Paxton is named the Republican nominee after the May 26 runoff, there’s a “high risk” that the attorney general would lose the race and take other congressional races down with him.
“Ken Paxton as the nominee would be a dead weight at the top of the ticket for Republicans running all across this great state over the next 12 weeks,” he said.
Cornyn teased his strategy for the coming months.
“Over the next 12 weeks, Texas Republican primary voters will hear more about my record of delivering conservative victories in the United States Senate and learn more about Ken’s indefensible personal behavior and failures in office.”
The runoff was expected, though Republicans who’ve been backing the Cornyn were hoping the senator would win outright.
Some Republicans are worried about Paxton’s chances in a general election as the GOP tries to keep control of the Senate in November, and worry that money will need to be spent in Texas that could otherwise go toward winning battleground states, according to Politico.
President Donald Trump hasn’t endorsed in the race, though the candidates have worked to tie themselves to the president. Cornyn was asked whether he expects Trump to endorse, now that the race is in a runoff.
“There’s only one person on the planet who knows what President Trump is going to do, and that’s President Trump,” Cornyn said.
This story was originally published March 3, 2026 at 10:26 PM.
