Cornyn, Paxton Trade Early Attacks In Closely Watched Texas Gop Senate Primary

A supercharged U.S. Senate GOP primary in Texas between Sen. John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton is kicking off with personal attacks and expectations of a high-spending race in a year when Senate Republicans will be defending key seats and targeting others in 2026.

"We're going to end up spending hundreds of millions of dollars potentially on this race in Texas because we can't lose the seat in Texas, and that is money that can't be used in places like Michigan, New Hampshire and Georgia," Cornyn told reporters Wednesday.

He went on to call Paxton a "conman and a fraud" in remarks that set the stage for a bitter campaign in the months ahead. The feud is not new: Cornyn, who lost a bid for Senate majority leader last year, is among the few prominent Republicans who has criticized Paxton over legal troubles that once threatened the career of Texas' top law enforcement official.

Paxton, a close ally of President Donald Trump who was first elected to the Texas statehouse in 2002, is starting his campaign by framing himself an outsider and telling voters on his website that he will take on "career politicians" in Washington. Among Paxton's recurring criticisms of Cornyn - who has served in Congress since 2002 - was the senator's support of a bipartisan gun control bill after the 2022 elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in which a teenage gunman killed 19 students and two teachers.

Looming over the race is if Trump will make an endorsement. Paxton said Wednesday he doesn't expect the president to weigh in until closer to election day.