{"id":2413780,"date":"2025-03-18T21:50:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-19T01:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-ag-ken-paxton-hints-at-primary-challenge-against-cornyn-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-03-18T21:50:00","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T01:50:00","slug":"texas-ag-ken-paxton-hints-at-primary-challenge-against-cornyn-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-ag-ken-paxton-hints-at-primary-challenge-against-cornyn-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas AG Ken Paxton hints at primary challenge against Cornyn &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftexas-ag-ken-paxton-hints-at-primary-challenge-against-cornyn-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2413780&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Texas AG Ken Paxton hints at primary challenge against Cornyn<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2031490\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Texas Attorney General <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ken-paxton\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Ken Paxton\">Ken Paxton<\/a> has suggested he will mount a primary challenge against Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ken-paxton\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"John Cornyn\">John Cornyn<\/a> (R-TX) in 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Paxton has been a noted critic of Cornyn, especially after the senator <a href=\"https:\/\/www.khou.com\/article\/news\/special-reports\/paxton-impeachment-trial\/cornyn-paxton-impeachment-trial\/285-af9977ec-1893-4f8b-a8d1-050fe180d06b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">threw barbs<\/a> at him <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2764148\/texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton-acquitted-on-all-16-impeachment-charges-by-senate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">during his impeachment trial<\/a>. After being acquitted, Paxton has increasingly eyed Cornyn&rsquo;s Senate seat. In an <a href=\"https:\/\/punchbowl.news\/article\/senate\/paxton-plots-to-take-on-cornyn\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">interview<\/a> with <em>Punchbowl News<\/em>, Paxton gave his strongest indication yet that he will primary Cornyn.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3351244\/bob-menendez-trump-delay-wife-nadine-menendez-corruption-trial\/\">Bob Menendez asks for Trump&#8217;s help in effort to delay wife&#8217;s corruption trial<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/3350285\/houston-democrats-special-election-sylvester-turner-seat\/\">Houston Democrats jump into special election to fill late Sylvester Turner&#8217;s seat<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3350027\/muriel-bowser-washington-dc-funding-house-bill\/\">Bowser stresses DC will meet financial obligations while pushing for House to restore funding<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;I think&nbsp;it&rsquo;s just time,&rdquo; Paxton said of a Cornyn challenge. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s had his chance. He hasn&rsquo;t performed well, and the voters know it. You can go a long time without people paying attention. And they&rsquo;re paying attention now.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton arrives with Donald Trump at Manhattan criminal court before Trump&rsquo;s trial in New York, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Justin Lane\/Pool Photo via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;I think I can win&nbsp;if I have $20 million,&rdquo; the Republican attorney general stated, putting forward his fundraising target. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve run these primaries in Texas before. I honestly don&rsquo;t see how [Cornyn] overcomes&nbsp;his numbers.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Paxton said he would decide whether or not to run within the next &ldquo;couple of months.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In the interview, the attorney general and staunch ally of President Donald Trump zeroed in on the perceived weaknesses of Cornyn, such as his hawkishness on Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going&nbsp;to start calling him &lsquo;Senator Ukraine&rsquo; because he&rsquo;s funding Ukraine more than he&rsquo;s funding our border, and that&rsquo;s a problem in Texas,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Paxton dismissed Cornyn&rsquo;s recent turn to the right, saying that voters wouldn&rsquo;t buy it.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;After 23 years he&rsquo;s finally got a real opponent &mdash; potential opponent. He&rsquo;s gonna do that, right? I mean, no one&rsquo;s gonna be surprised by that. Voters are not stupid. Like suddenly he veers to the right? We&rsquo;re less than a year from the primary now. And as soon as it&rsquo;s over &hellip; he goes back to being John Cornyn,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Paxton has been on a revenge tour after being acquitted in his impeachment trial, which centered on corruption allegations. His foremost target appears to be Cornyn, who openly mocked the attorney general during the scandal. In a Feb. 28, 2024, post on X, he suggested that Paxton was going to prison.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Hard to run from prison, Ken,&rdquo; he said in response to a post from Paxton saying Republicans deserved a better senator.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Hard to run from prison, Ken <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/6oQ3oMqjCN\">https:\/\/t.co\/6oQ3oMqjCN<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JohnCornyn\/status\/1762994251573404153?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 29, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3320030\/federal-workers-ordered-return-work-no-office-space\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">FEDERAL WORKERS ORDERED TO RETURN TO WORK TO FIND THEMSELVES OFFICELESS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Paxton told the outlet he plans to talk to Trump about who he will endorse in 2026, believing he will be chosen. Still, he pointed to data on Corny&rsquo;s popularity in suggesting that he may not even need the president&rsquo;s endorsement to defeat the incumbent senator.<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/texaspolitics.utexas.edu\/set\/john-cornyn-job-approval-trend#republican-identification\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"polling aggregate\">polling aggregate<\/a> by the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin found that Cornyn&rsquo;s approval rating among Republicans was just 49% in February, one of the lowest of statewide officeholders, compared to Paxton&rsquo;s 62%. Cornyn&rsquo;s other Texas colleague, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), has an approval rating of 80% among Republicans.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2031490\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2031490\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Texas AG Ken Paxton hints at primary challenge against Cornyn Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has suggested he will mount a primary challenge against Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) in 2026. Paxton has been a noted critic of Cornyn, especially after the senator threw barbs at him during his impeachment trial. After being acquitted, Paxton has<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2653,"featured_media":2413781,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Sen.-John-Cornyn-and-Ken-Paxton-1024x576.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2413780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Sen.-John-Cornyn-and-Ken-Paxton-1024x576.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2413780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2653"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2413780"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2413780\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2413781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2413780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2413780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2413780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}