Cornyn Forced into Runoff with Ken Paxton After Outspending Texas AG 33–1
Nobody won outright in the Texas Republican U.S. Senate primary on Tuesday, which will go to a May 26 runoff between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
According to Associated Press numbers published by The Washington Post, with 94 percent of the votes in, Cornyn led with 41.9 percent of the votes, and Paxton was second at 40.7 percent.
The count showed Cornyn with 897,187 votes against 871,672 for Paxton.
Third-place finisher Rep. Wesley Hunt received 289,403 votes to secure 13.5 percent of the votes cast. Other candidates ate up 3.9 percent of the votes.
Over on the Democratic side, state Rep. James Talarico received 1,188,253 votes, or 52.8 percent, against Rep. Jasmine Crockett, whose 1,034,096 votes gave her 45.9 percent of the votes cast.
Candidates had to achieve 50 percent plus one support to avoid a runoff, according to The Hill.
In February, the National Republican Senatorial Committee said Cornyn was “the only Republican candidate who reliably wins a general election matchup” and that Texas “cannot afford to be a gamble” in the midterm elections.
Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet framed the contest as “a David vs. Goliath race.”
Most people don’t understand just what a David vs. Goliath race Paxton is running against Cornyn.
He’s been outspent 33:1 according to his internal tracking, and he’s still going to win.
This would be one of the biggest upsets in U.S. Senate history if he pulls it off. pic.twitter.com/740B3JdFB9
— Andrew Kolvet (@AndrewKolvet) March 4, 2026
He claimed in a post on X that Paxton, who was supported by Turning Point USA, had “been outspent 33:1 according to his internal tracking, and he’s still going to win.”
“This would be one of the biggest upsets in U.S. Senate history if he pulls it off,” Kolvet wrote.
Cornyn had argued he was the better choice to avoid Democrats flipping the seat, according to Fox News.
“If I’m the nominee, I’ll help President Trump by making sure that we carry the five new congressional seats as well as maintain this Senate seat and will help him continue his agenda through the last two years of his term of office,” Cornyn said.
“If the Democrats win, because we nominate a flawed candidate with incredible baggage like the attorney general, then that last two years of [Trump’s] agenda is jeopardized, as well as everybody down ballot that we need to continue to elect as Republicans,” he said.
The Cornyn-Biden gun control bill:
Expanded background checks for military aged gun owners and young single mothers under 21, digging into previously sealed juvenile records, including psychiatric data. pic.twitter.com/kqqTVhX5MS
— National Association for Gun Rights (@gunrights) April 7, 2025
Paxton said that Cornyn’s record, which included support for a gun control measure supported by former President Joe Biden, will be his downfall.
“As we head into this runoff, we’re going to make the choice even clearer. While John Cornyn was cutting deals on gun control and amnesty, I was suing corrupt Joe Biden over 107 times,” Paxton said.
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