Updated on: March 3, 2026 / 11:48 PM EST / CBS News
CBS News projects that Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will advance to a runoff in the Texas Republican Senate primary after neither candidate cleared the 50% threshold.
Paxton, seeking a third term as attorney general, challenged Cornyn, who is running for a fourth Senate term and has held GOP leadership roles. The Senate GOP’s campaign arm has invested millions in Cornyn’s bid. The runoff is set for May 26. President Trump has not made an endorsement in the contest.
Both frontrunners traded attacks Tuesday night. Cornyn said he would not “allow a flawed, self-centered and shameless candidate like Ken Paxton risk everything we’ve worked so hard to build,” adding, “Judgment Day is coming for Ken Paxton.” Paxton accused Cornyn of trying to “steal the election with another $100 million going into this Senate race” and said the results showed “the people are on our side.” Rep. Wesley Hunt was also a contender in the primary.
By Feb. 23, AdImpact reported more than $110 million had been spent on television advertising in the record-breaking Senate primary race.
Trump said he liked all three candidates and had appeared with them at a Corpus Christi rally last weekend. He has endorsed many House and state-level candidates in Texas, though he has not chosen between Cornyn, Paxton and Hunt in this primary. A February survey from the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs found 55% of Republican primary voters said they were more likely to support a candidate with Trump’s backing.
Cornyn, 74, has rarely faced serious primary opposition. In 2020 he carried more votes in Texas than Trump. He served as Senate majority whip during Trump’s first term and previously held leadership roles including GOP conference vice chair and chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Paxton has a loyal base and is a close Trump ally. He led a 2020 lawsuit seeking to overturn election results in four states Biden won; the Supreme Court dismissed the case shortly after it was filed. Paxton also spoke at Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021, Ellipse rally and later blamed antifa for the violence at the U.S. Capitol. During the Biden administration he was among the most active state attorneys general in litigation against the federal government, marking his 100th lawsuit against the administration in November 2024.
Campaign attacks have focused on Cornyn’s record and conservative bona fides and on Paxton’s legal and ethical controversies. Cornyn warned Republicans would face an “Election Day massacre” if Paxton won and has highlighted Paxton’s scandals. Paxton has accused Cornyn of insincere support for Trump “to win a primary.” Hunt has criticized Cornyn’s age.
Paxton’s high-profile legal troubles include a 2023 impeachment by the Texas House. The GOP-controlled chamber voted 121-23 to impeach him on 20 counts, including bribery and abuse of public trust, alleging misuse of public funds to settle claims by four whistleblowers who said they were fired in retaliation. The state Senate held a trial on 16 counts; conviction on any one count required a two-thirds vote for removal. Only two Republican senators voted to convict on any counts, leaving Paxton far short of the threshold and allowing him to remain in office. Trump, who was not in office at the time, publicly congratulated Paxton on the acquittal.
The impeachment and trial damaged Paxton politically. Allegations included that he pressured an associate to hire a woman with whom he was accused of having an affair; that woman’s planned testimony was postponed and never occurred for undisclosed reasons. Paxton’s wife, then-State Sen. Angela Paxton, was barred from participating in the proceedings but sat through the trial and voted; she later filed for divorce in 2025, citing “Biblical grounds” and saying she had pursued reconciliation but no longer believed staying in the marriage honored God or was loving to herself, her children, or Ken.
Separately, Paxton was indicted in 2015 by a Collin County grand jury on two first-degree securities fraud charges and a third-degree failure-to-register charge. He pleaded not guilty; after nine years the charges were dismissed as part of a deal in which he agreed to pay restitution and perform community service.
In the aftermath of the impeachment, Paxton vowed retribution against Republicans who had led the effort. The political fallout included consequences for some lawmakers involved in the process: the House speaker at the time, Dade Phelan, faced a tough primary and later left his leadership post, and Rep. Andrew Murr, who chaired the House impeachment board and delivered opening and closing statements, did not run for reelection.
In short, the Texas GOP primary produced a runoff between an established Senate leader with deep party ties and an attorney general with a fervent base and a record of legal and political controversy. The May 26 runoff will determine the party’s nominee for the U.S. Senate seat.