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As voters head to the polls today in Texas, GOP Sen. John Cornyn is warning the longtime red state is “at risk” of Democrats pulling off a historic upset of a critical Senate seat.
Cornyn’s primary race against Texas Attorney General challenger Ken Paxton finally came to a head in today’s election. After the tight race, Cornyn expressed his concern that Republicans will lose a seat that could seriously damage the party’s hopes of retaining a majority in the executive branch.
Speaking to Fox News Digital before Election Day, Cornyn praised Texas as “the most conservative state in the country,” making it “a land of opportunity and where the American dream is very much alive.”
“But I think all of that is at stake, depending on how this happens, because I think Ken Paxton’s mistakes and the baggage he brings to the general election will be fully exploited by James Talarico and the Democrats,” he said.
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Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is calling Democratic challenger James Talarico to criticize his pastor for facilitating a third attempt on President Donald Trump’s life. (Photo by Danielle Villasana // by Heather Diehl/)
Whoever emerges Tuesday night will have to face state President James Talarico, a rising star of the Democratic Alliance who many in the party believe has broad enough appeal to finally flip the state for the first time in more than two decades.
Cornyn expressed concern about Talarico’s fundraising abilities, citing the $27 million it raised in the first quarter of the year. He pointed out that if Paxton wins, “there will be a tsunami of money coming into the state from outside.”
He also asserted that “it’s not just that Senate seat [Paxton] it puts at risk, and all down-ballot races, state legislative races, local races, like judges and the like.”
“We haven’t elected a Democrat to state office since 1994 in Texas,” he said. “President Trump is not running, so the Senate race will be up, and I believe I will be in a better position to help provide an important measure, a margin of victory, not only in my case, but also to help everyone get down the vote.”
“I don’t think the attorney-general can do that because of the important burden he brings to this race that jeopardizes success from top to bottom,” he said.
Paxton has faced numerous scandals and legal troubles over the past decade. In 2023, the Texas House of Representatives voted to impeach Paxton, but he was ultimately acquitted of all charges by the state Senate.
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is leaning heavily on President Donald Trump’s support in his Senate campaign against Sen. John Cornyn. (Elias Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News/Getty Images)
The attorney general is also facing a bitter divorce, with his wife citing “biblical reasons” based on “new discoveries” when she filed for divorce last year.
Despite this and Cornyn’s status as a long-time fixture in the Republican Party, it is Paxton who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump.
“Ken is a true MAGA Hero who ALWAYS delivers to Texas, and will continue to do so in the US Senate,” Trump wrote on social media.
Trump said, “John Cornyn is a good man, and I worked well with him, but he would not support me when times were difficult.” Pointing to his past criticism of the congressman, Trump added, “John was too late to support me in what became a historic Republican nomination, then President.”
Cornyn also emphasized his support for the president and his agenda, telling Fox News Digital, “President Trump has called me a friend and a good man, and we’ve worked closely with him in both capacities.”
Paxton, who has captured national attention for the past dozen years by filing lawsuits against the Obama and Biden administrations, disagreed.
ON ELECTION NIGHT FOR SENATE RESUMES, GOP SEN JOHN CORNYN TELLS FOX NEWS DIGITAL ‘TEXANS AREN’T REPRESENTED WELL’
Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, center, campaigns for a meet and greet in Corpus Christi, Texas, on May 22, 2026, days before the ongoing GOP Senate nomination election. (Luke Travisan/Fox News)
“John Cornyn fought Trump on the border. And you can go back almost a decade and see that he was not for the border wall,” Paxton said in an interview with Fox News’ “The Big Weekend Show.”
Paxton also said the senator “fought the president’s reelection. He fought him in 2024, he said his time was up, and he fought him in 2016. So, this is not a pro-Trump guy. I don’t know that we could be more different on Republican issues than John Cornyn and I. So, there’s a big difference between the two of us.”
Cornyn backed away.
“I don’t know how much I can be with him more than 99.3% of the time,” the senator told Fox News Digital.
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“I want him to succeed. I want America to succeed, and I want the Republicans to succeed. But you know, in the end, like I said, Texans are the only ones who will be able to choose, and I think Texans can be very independent,” added Cornyn.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Talarico for comment.
