Ken Paxton v. John Cornyn is shaping up to be a bare-knuckle primary battle for US Senate
One day after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced he will challenge U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in next year's Republican primary, the four-term senator came out with a bare-knuckled attack, calling his rival "a con man and a fraud."
"Obviously, Mr. Paxton has a checkered background," Cornyn told reporters Wednesday in Washington during an impromptu recorded interview. "And I think the people of Texas know that. This is what will be litigated during the course of this campaign."
Paxton, who announced his bid to unseat Cornyn to Fox News host Laura Ingraham on the air Tuesday evening, made clear he intends to play offense. He accused the incumbent of being insufficiently loyal to Republican President Donald Trump and said Cornyn's long tenure in Washington has left him out of touch with GOP primary voters in Texas.
"I'm running for U.S. Senate to fight for President Trump’s agenda and take a sledgehammer to the D.C. establishment," Paxton said in a news release after his campaign announcement on Fox. "It’s crystal clear that it’s time for a change. I’m a battle-tested Attorney General and conservative warrior who’s secured major victories against the establishment, the corrupt Biden Administration, and woke corporations."
In reference to calling the state's top lawyer a "fraud," Cornyn was referring to the Texas House in May 2023 voting overwhelmingly to impeach Paxton on 20 charges, including constitutional bribery and misusing his office to help a friend and campaign supporter. After an impeachment trial in the Texas Senate, the upper chamber voted, largely along party line votes, to acquit Paxton.
A year ago, Paxton agreed to perform community service and pay restitution in exchange for having state securities fraud charges that had dogged him for nearly a decade dropped. And last week, The Associated Press reported that the U.S. Justice Department would not bring charges against Paxton after investigating allegations of corruption.
Cornyn's and Paxton's opening salvos likely foreshadow a brutal contest for U.S. Senate between now and the March 3, 2026, primaries. And more candidates, both Democratic and Republican, might decide to enter the race between now and when filing for the federal office begins later this year.
On Wednesday, Paxton stepped up his attacks. In a 2½-minute video posted on social media, Paxton, 62, sought to remind voters that Cornyn had urged Republicans to find an alternative to Trump heading into the 2024 presidential campaign and recycled an old video of the incumbent saying that building a "giant" border wall, Trump's signature issue in his first run for the White House, "makes no sense whatsoever."
Since Trump secured the GOP nomination in his comeback bid early last year, Cornyn has worked to improve his standing with the president's base. In his own video announcing his reelection effort last month, Cornyn touted his pro-Trump voting record in the Senate and promising his continued support.
Speaking with reporters Wednesday, Cornyn, 73, suggested it would be Paxton who would undermine Trump's second-term agenda. Forcing Republican donors to invest heavily in what will likely be an almost prohibitively expensive primary campaign in a state that for a generation has remained safely in the GOP column in the November elections would leave less for Senate races in swing states, he said.
"We're going to end up spending hundreds of millions of dollars, potentially," Cornyn said of the upcoming primary race. "And that is money that can't be used in places like Michigan, New Hampshire and Georgia in the midterm elections."
Trump has not stated a preference in the Texas Senate GOP primary, but his influence is considered pivotal. In 2022, then-Land Commissioner George P. Bush forced Paxton into a runoff in his bid for a third term for attorney general. Both had sought Trump's backing, but Paxton won the battle.
And he won renomination with a resounding 68% of the runoff vote.
'Win their hearts and minds'
After Paxton's announcement Tuesday, Cornyn's campaign countered by reminding voters of Paxton's long-running legal battles and his extramarital dalliance that became a sideshow at his impeachment trial.
"Ken claims to be a man of faith but uses fake Uber accounts to meet his girlfriend and deceive his family," the campaign's statement said, alluding to documents filed by the House impeachment managers accusing Paxton of using an alias to obtain ride-hailing services for romantic rendezvous.
U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who heads up the Republican senatorial campaign arm, issued a statement Wednesday praising Cornyn, calling him "a leader who delivers on President Trump's agenda" and "a proven fighter."
Bill Miller, a veteran political operator and insider, said the primary will likely be seen as a contest between Texas and Washington.
"John Cornyn will be able to raise plenty of money because of his years of being in the Senate, and Ken Paxton has shown the ability to raise lots of money for his races in Texas," said Miller, who helped Cornyn run his first statewide race for Supreme Court in the 1990s. "Both candidates will be very well funded."
But as the Texas Republican Party's center of gravity has shifted to the right, Paxton might be better positioned among grassroots conservatives, Miller said. Cornyn's challenge will be to wrest significant numbers of those voters back to his side.
"Name-calling is not going to do it," Miller said. "He's got to win their hearts and minds."