President Donald Trump intensified his pressure on the Republican establishment this week by targeting longtime Texas Senator John Cornyn as “very disloyal” ahead of Tuesday’s critical runoff election. Trump threw his support behind Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a staunch MAGA ally, in what has become one of the most expensive and contentious GOP Senate primary battles in the state’s recent history. The runoff represents another major test of Trump’s continued dominance over the Republican Party and the power of his endorsements in shaping nomination contests across the country.
The winner of Tuesday’s Republican runoff will face Democratic state Representative James Talarico in November’s general election. Talarico, who defeated progressive Representative Jasmine Crockett in the March primary, is attempting to become the first Democrat in nearly 40 years to win a Texas Senate seat. The race is among a handful nationwide that could determine whether Republicans maintain their narrow 53-47 majority in the upper chamber.
Trump breaks months of silence with late Paxton endorsement
After remaining neutral throughout the initial primary campaign, Trump endorsed Paxton just one week before the runoff election. In a social media post published last Tuesday, the president declared that “Ken is a true MAGA Warrior who has always delivered for Texas, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate.” Trump’s intervention comes three weeks after he helped purge five Indiana state senators who opposed his congressional redistricting push, and just days after contributing to the defeat of Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, who voted to convict Trump during his second impeachment trial five and a half years ago.
Trump acknowledged his working relationship with Cornyn but criticized the senator’s loyalty during difficult periods. “John Cornyn is a good man, and I worked well with him, but he was not supportive of me when times were tough,” Trump stated. He added that Cornyn “was very late in backing me in what turned out to be a historic run for the Republican nomination, and then, the presidency.” The two candidates advanced to the runoff after neither cleared the 50% threshold in the early March primary, where Cornyn narrowly edged out Paxton in a crowded field of contenders.
Cornyn defends loyalty record as Paxton attacks border stance
Senator Cornyn pushed back against Trump’s criticism in an interview, emphasizing his consistent support for the president’s agenda. “President Trump has called me a friend and a good man, and we’ve worked with him closely for both terms of office,” Cornyn said. He highlighted his voting record, noting that he voted with Trump “99.3% of the time.” Cornyn added that while he wants Trump and the Republican Party to succeed, Texans ultimately remain independent-minded voters who will make their own choice.
Paxton, however, painted a starkly different picture of Cornyn’s relationship with Trump. “John Cornyn fought Trump on the border. You can go back about a decade and see that he was not for the border wall,” Paxton charged during an appearance on a national news program. He continued his attacks by claiming Cornyn “fought the president’s reelection” and opposed him in both 2016 and 2024, saying “his time had passed.” Paxton argued that the differences between him and Cornyn on Republican issues could not be greater.
Scandals and electability concerns dominate campaign narrative
Cornyn’s campaign has focused heavily on Paxton’s legal troubles and personal scandals as reasons why the attorney general would struggle in a general election. In 2023, the Texas House of Representatives voted to impeach Paxton, though he was eventually acquitted of all charges by the state senate. Paxton is also dealing with a contentious divorce after his wife filed to end their marriage last year, citing “biblical grounds” based on “recent discoveries.”
The senator warned that if Paxton becomes the GOP nominee, the party will be forced to spend millions defending a seat that should be safe while down-ballot Republicans suffer. “He’s gotten more and more emboldened as he’s gotten away with all the scandal and mischief that now is very well known,” Cornyn said. He predicted that exposure to general election voters, especially independents, would make for “a very rocky time” for Paxton’s candidacy.
Cornyn emphasized his own electability, noting he won his last general election by 10 points and believes he can perform similarly against Talarico, whom he described as “far left and radical.” He also pointed out that Talarico raised an eye-popping $27 million during the first three months of this year, warning of an “incredible tsunami of Democratic funds” that would target Paxton. By contrast, Cornyn argued that if he wins the nomination, Republicans “will be able to shoulder the burden pretty much on our own.”
Republican attorney general race pits Roy against self-funded opponent
The other major statewide runoff in Texas is for attorney general, the position Paxton currently holds. Four-term Representative Chip Roy is battling state Senator Mayes Middleton, who serves as president of an independent oil and gas company. Middleton narrowly edged Roy in the March primary and has poured approximately $17 million of his own money into his campaign. Roy, a former Texas assistant attorney general and former chief of staff to Senator Ted Cruz, received a late surge in fundraising from major backers to compete with his self-funded rival.
Roy has emphasized his courtroom experience as a key differentiator. “Having been the first assistant attorney general makes me ready on day one, but it’s also that I’ve been a prosecutor, I’ve been in court, I’ve sat in front of a judge, stood in front of a judge, argued cases, and he has never done any of those things,” Roy said in an interview. He argued that practical legal experience should matter in selecting the state’s top law enforcement official.
Middleton has countered by questioning Roy’s conservative credentials and loyalty to Trump. His campaign has run advertisements claiming Roy “betrayed MAGA” by pointing to instances when the congressman broke with Trump over policy. “Chip Roy has spent a decade fighting the president. He actually said President Trump committed impeachable conduct on the House floor,” Middleton stated. Roy responded that everyone knows he’s “a longtime defender and supporter of the president’s agenda” but also “an independent thinker who will stand up and make the case.”
Controversial Democratic candidate sparks party backlash in House race
Democratic and Republican runoffs for four U.S. House seats are also taking place Tuesday, including a particularly contentious Democratic primary in the 35th Congressional District. Housing activist and sex therapist Maureen Galindo has drawn widespread condemnation from Democratic Party leaders for a social media post proposing to convert an ICE detention center into a prison for American supporters of Israel. She added that the facility would include a castration facility for pedophiles, whom she claimed would “likely include most of the Zionists.” Galindo also stated her runoff opponent, Bexar County Sheriff’s Deputy Johnny Garcia, should be tried for treason over his support for Israel.
The inflammatory comments have united Democratic leaders behind Garcia, who is running as a moderate. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Texas Democratic Party, Talarico, and even progressive icon Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have all endorsed Garcia. The winner will face either Republican state Representative John Lujan or Air Force veteran Carlos De La Cruz, brother of Representative Monica De La Cruz, in the general election for the redrawn majority-Latino district.
Additional House runoffs include the solidly blue Houston-based 18th Congressional District, where 78-year-old Democratic Representative Al Green faces 38-year-old Representative Christian Menefee for a seat redrawn last year by Republicans. In the Democratic-dominated Dallas-based 33rd Congressional District, Democratic Representative Julie Johnson is running against former Representative Colin Allred. The newly drawn 9th Congressional District in the Houston area features Trump-endorsed Army veteran Alex Mealer against state Representative Briscoe Cain, who has the backing of Texas Governor Greg Abbott, in a Republican runoff for the right-leaning seat.