Paxton Unseats Cornyn In Blowout Defeat For Establishment GOP

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ousted incumbent Sen. John Cornyn during Tuesday’s primary election, in a blowout that punished not just Cornyn but the Republican establishment he represents. The race had been largely viewed as a referendum on establishment Republicans’ reluctance to deliver on popular initiatives like election integrity.

At the time of reporting, Paxton had received nearly 64 percent of the vote compared to Cornyn’s 36 percent, with 65 percent of the vote in, according to the Associated Press.

Cornyn and Paxton advanced to the runoff after neither candidate secured a majority during the March primary. Paxton received President Donald Trump’s endorsement just days before the runoff.

The Texas attorney general is a “Strong Supporter of TERMINATING THE FILIBUSTER and, very importantly, THE SAVE AMERICA ACT, something which polls at 87%, including Dumocrats, and yet can’t seem to get approved,” Trump wrote on Truth Social last Tuesday. The Save America Act would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and implement voter ID requirements, two provisions that voters overwhelmingly support. The bill, however, has languished in the Republican-led Senate since passing the House, as GOP leadership rejected calls to pass the bill by employing a “talking filibuster.”

Shortly after the initial March primary, Paxton announced on X that he would “consider dropping out of this race if Senate Leadership agrees to lift the filibuster and passes the SAVE America Act.” Cornyn had initially expressed reluctance to use a talking filibuster to pass the legislation. Following pressure from Paxton and the president, Cornyn released an op-ed voicing support for “whatever changes” to Senate rules might be “necessary” to pass the legislation — even though a talking filibuster requires no rule changes. 

Paxton’s move worked: it showed he was willing to sacrifice his own chance of victory for the election integrity legislation, and it put a spotlight on Senate Republicans’ refusal to get the flagship bill over the finish line.

“Perhaps Ken can help move these important elements of Government forward,” Trump wrote in his endorsement of Paxton. The endorsement reportedly infuriated other establishment Republicans, such as Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who was overheard making snide remarks about the president’s refusal to back Cornyn. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, the chief Republican responsible for doing nothing to pass the Save America Act, called Cornyn a “principled conservative” and doubled down on backing him.

Cornyn’s defeat comes less than two weeks after Louisiana incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy, who once voted to impeach Trump, was ousted by a Trump-backed candidate. And less than two weeks before that, Republican voters dealt a resounding primary defeat to Indiana state legislators who refused to counter Democrat gerrymandering, a result widely seen as a blow to establishment Republicans and a victory for base voters.