Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s announcement that he is running to unseat Sen. John Cornyn sets up an intraparty showdown that GOP leaders hoped to avoid in the Lone Star State.
Mr. Paxton claims that Mr. Cornyn, a four-term incumbent, hasn’t accomplished much during his 23 years in the Senate.
“I’m announcing that I’m running for U.S. Senate against John Cornyn who apparently is running again for his fifth term, which would put him there three decades,” Mr. Paxton said Tuesday on Fox News Channel’s “The Ingraham Angle.” “It’s definitely time for a change in Texas.”
“We have another great U.S. senator, Ted Cruz, and it’s time we have another great senator that will actually stand up and fight for Republican values, fight for the values of the people of Texas and also support Donald Trump in the areas that he’s focused on in a very significant way, and that’s what I plan on doing,” he said.
On Wednesday, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the campaign arm for the Senate GOP, endorsed Mr. Cornyn, who lost in.a secret-ballot to Sen. John Thune of South Dakota when tried to become Senate majority ;leader following the 2024 election.
“John Cornyn is a leader who delivers on President Trump’s agenda and for the people of Texas in the U.S. Senate,” Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the NRSC chairman, said in a statement. “He’s a proven fighter, man of faith, and essential part of the Republican Senate Majority.”
President Trump’s possible endorsement, which is viewed as a golden ticket in Republican primary fights, hangs over the race.
GOP leaders in Washington have reportedly asked the president to back Mr. Cornyn.
Mr. Paxton has been a staunch Trump ally and has endeared himself to MAGA faithful who have been critical of Mr. Cornyn citing for example his support for the gun-control package passed after the Uvalde school shooting.
Another Texas Republican, Rep. Wesley Hunt, is also thought to be considering a bid.
The Cornyn campaign responded to the Paxton announcement by arguing that the senator has been a loyal MAGA ally, and his record proves it. They said he voted 95% of the time with the president during Mr. Trump’s first term.
“Democrats are trying to destroy President Trump, and he and Texas need a battle-tested conservative who knows how to protect his agenda in the Senate and won’t be outsmarted by Chuck Schumer,” the Cornyn campaign said before attacking Mr. Paxton.
“Ken Paxton is a fraud,” the Cornyn team said, accusing the state’s attorney general of being soft on corruption and supportive of woke lawyers.
“And Ken claims to be a man of faith but uses fake Uber accounts to meet his girlfriend and deceive his family,” the Cornyn campaign said. “This will be a spirited campaign, and we assure Texans they will have a real choice when this race is over.”
Mr. Paxton narrowly overcame an impeachment vote in 2023 over alleged bribes he took from a real estate investor in a case that aired out details about an extramarital affair. He also agreed last year to pay nearly $300,000 in restitution under a deal to end criminal securities-fraud charges over accusations that he duped investors in a tech startup near Dallas.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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