{"id":2421413,"date":"2025-04-08T21:10:02","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T01:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ken-paxton-launches-campaign-for-senate-to-unseat-john-cornyn-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-04-08T21:11:59","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T01:11:59","slug":"ken-paxton-launches-campaign-for-senate-to-unseat-john-cornyn-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ken-paxton-launches-campaign-for-senate-to-unseat-john-cornyn-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Ken Paxton launches campaign for Senate to unseat John 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%2Fken-paxton-launches-campaign-for-senate-to-unseat-john-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=2421413&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>Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has officially launched his campaign to challenge incumbent Senator John Cornyn in the upcoming Senate election. Announcing his candidacy during an appearance on fox news&#8217; *The ingraham Angle*,Paxton criticized Cornyn for seeking a fifth term,claiming it is time for a change in Texas leadership. He emphasized his commitment to fighting for Republican values and supporting former President Donald TrumpS agenda.<\/p>\n<p>Cornyn&#8217;s team quickly responded, defending the senator&#8217;s record as being in line with presidential policies and criticizing Paxton&#8217;s character and past controversies, including an impeachment trial he faced. Paxton, on the other hand, dismissed Cornyn\u2019s claims and highlighted polling data showing strong support for his campaign, suggesting that he represents a serious challenge to the incumbent.<\/p>\n<p>The rivalry between the two has a backdrop of past insults and criticisms, with both <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">candidates expressing strong opinions<\/a> about each other&#8217;s qualifications. Paxton&#8217;s campaign is shaping up to be contentious, with high stakes as both candidates seek to appeal to Republican voters in Texas ahead of the vote.  <\/p>\n<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\">Ken Paxton launches campaign for Senate to unseat John 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_1998345\" 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 announced his campaign to unseat Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/john-cornyn\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Ken Paxton\">John Cornyn<\/a> (R-TX).<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3351927\/ken-paxton-hints-primary-challenge-john-cornyn-texas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"After weeks of teasing a run\">After weeks of teasing a run<\/a>, Paxton declared his decision in an appearance on Fox News&rsquo;s <em>The Ingraham Angle<\/em> on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3374436\/watch-live-trump-remarks-nrcc-dinner\/\">WATCH LIVE: Trump gives remarks at National Republican Congressional Committee dinner<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3373517\/chris-sununu-declines-new-hampshire-senate-run-trump-endorsement\/\">Chris Sununu declines New Hampshire Senate run despite Trump endorsement<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3373218\/house-democrats-campaign-arm-districts-play-2026\/\">House Democrats&#8217; campaign arm unveils 35 districts &#8216;in play&#8217; for 2026<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m announcing that I&rsquo;m running for U.S. Senate against John Cornyn, who apparently is running again for his fifth term, which would put him in there three decades,&rdquo; Paxton said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s definitely time for a change in Texas.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We have another great U.S. senator, Ted Cruz, and it&rsquo;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 [President Donald] Trump,&rdquo; he added.<\/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\">It&#8217;s official. I&rsquo;m running for U.S. Senate to fight for President Trump&rsquo;s agenda and take a sledgehammer to the D.C. establishment.<\/p>\n<p>Together, let&#8217;s send John Cornyn packing: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/rQl0P2UnWU\">https:\/\/t.co\/rQl0P2UnWU<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1KIajC0JhN\">pic.twitter.com\/1KIajC0JhN<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KenPaxtonTX\/status\/1909753107212365960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 8, 2025<\/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>Cornyn was quick to respond. In a statement to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, a spokesperson for Cornyn defended his record backing the president, saying he voted with Trump more than 95% more than other senators, and bashed Paxton&rsquo;s character.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Ken Paxton is a fraud. He talks tough on crime and then lets crooked progressive Lina Hidalgo off the hook. He says his impeachment trial was a sham but he didn&rsquo;t contest the facts in legal filings which will cost the state millions. He says he&rsquo;s anti-woke but he funnels millions of taxpayer dollars to lawyers who celebrate DEl. And Ken claims to be a man of faith but uses fake Uber accounts to meet his girlfriend and deceive his family,&rdquo; the statement said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This will be a spirited campaign and we assure Texans they will have a real choice when this race is over,&rdquo; it added.<\/p>\n<p>Paxton was quick to hit back, touting his polling numbers.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Our campaign only responds to serious candidates who aren&rsquo;t 25 points down in the polls,&rdquo; he responded.<\/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\">Our campaign only responds to serious candidates who aren&#8217;t 25 points down in the polls. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/V4aTQcAfOA\">https:\/\/t.co\/V4aTQcAfOA<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KenPaxtonTX\/status\/1909754865502273848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 8, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>A&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/texaspolitics.utexas.edu\/set\/john-cornyn-job-approval-trend#republican-identification\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">polling aggregate<\/a>&nbsp;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), had an approval rating of 80% among Republicans.<\/p>\n<p>Paxton has been openly critical of Cornyn in the past, leading to a Feb. 28, 2024, post on X where the incumbent mocked the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-ag-barr-authorizes-federal-prosecutors-to-pursue-substantial-allegations-of-voting-irregularities-before-2020-election-is-certified\/\" title=\"BREAKING: AG Barr Authorizes Federal Prosecutors to Pursue &quot;Substantial Allegations&quot; of Voting Irregularities Before 2020 Election is Certified\">attorney general<\/a> over his impeachment trial, which centered on corruption allegations.<\/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 async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The remark enflamed the feud and made Cornyn Paxton&rsquo;s central target in a revenge tour after his acquittal. The opening remarks in the Republican primary suggest a bitter campaign is coming.<\/p>\n<p>In a March&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/punchbowl.news\/article\/senate\/paxton-plots-to-take-on-cornyn\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">interview<\/a>&nbsp;with&nbsp;<em>Punchbowl News<\/em>, the attorney general and staunch Trump ally 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; Paxton said.<\/p>\n<p>Paxton dismissed Cornyn&rsquo;s recent turn further right, saying that voters wouldn&rsquo;t buy it.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);\"><b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3373728\/texas-democrats-2026-senate-race-ken-paxton-john-cornyn\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">TEXAS DEMOCRATS LOOK FORWARD TO &lsquo;VERY FUN TIMES&rsquo; IF PAXTON CHALLENGES CORNYN&rsquo;S SENATE SEAT<\/a><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;After 23 years he&rsquo;s finally got a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-ag-ken-paxton-hints-at-primary-challenge-against-cornyn-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"... AG ... hints at primary ... against Cornyn - Washington Examiner\">real opponent &#038;mdash<\/a>; 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; Paxton said.<\/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>Even before Paxton announced his bid on Tuesday, Texas Democrats shared their pleasure in imagining the attorney general challenging Cornyn for the Senate seat.<\/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_1998345\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1998345\"}});<\/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>Ken Paxton announces Senate campaign against John Cornyn<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2653,"featured_media":2421414,"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\/2024\/02\/MixCollage-13-Feb-2024-11-37-AM-2707-1024x591.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[45064,38244,52240],"class_list":["post-2421413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-john-cornyn","tag-ken-paxton","tag-senate-campaign"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/MixCollage-13-Feb-2024-11-37-AM-2707-1024x591.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2421413","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=2421413"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2421413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2421417,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2421413\/revisions\/2421417"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2421414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2421413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2421413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2421413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}