Texas Senator John Cornyn Loses G.O.P. Runoff
Overview
For the second time this month a sitting Republican Senator has been defeated in the party primary to a candidate supported by President Trump. Last night, Senator John Cornyn was soundly defeated by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a runoff election heading into the 2026 mid-term elections. Back in March Senator Cornyn and Ken Paxton outpaced a field of eight G.O.P. candidates, with Cornyn obtaining 42.5% of the vote (665,169 votes) and Paxton receiving 40.8% of the vote (638,481 votes). Since neither individual achieved 50% of the vote a runoff was required.
Yesterday’s outcome was no where near as close with challenger Paxton receiving 63.5% of the vote (586,953 votes) to Cornyn’s 36.5% of the vote (337,476 votes). Republican candidate Paxton will go on to face Democratic Senatorial candidate James Talarico in the November 3, 2026 general election.
What’s Next
Political pundits and the media are focusing heavily on the fact that two sitting Senators who were not supportive of the President will not be returning to Washington. Like Senator Bill Cassidy, who voted to convict President Trump in his second impeachment, failed to gain enough votes to be eligible for a runoff election in Louisiana, Senator Cornyn has been critical of President Trump’s agenda.
Tomorrow, in addition to key updates and summaries on the outcome of the AIM Negotiated Rulemaking and the Earnings Accountability NPRM responses, we will also provide an overview of how these two recent primary results could impact the Republicans 22 seats up for re-election out of the 35 seats – including the special elections in Florida and Ohio – that will take place in November.
