Texas Sen. John Cornyn fired back Tuesday after President Donald Trump endorsed Attorney General Ken Paxton in the state’s high-stakes Republican Senate runoff, setting up an all-out battle between establishment conservatism and full-throttle MAGA loyalty just days before voters head to the polls.
Cornyn responded publicly within hours of Trump’s endorsement announcement, emphasizing both his long relationship with the president and his voting record during Trump’s two terms in office.
“I have worked closely with President Trump through both of his Presidential terms and voted with him more than 99% of the time,” Cornyn wrote on X. “He has consistently called me a friend in this race.”
But Cornyn quickly pivoted toward electability, arguing that Republican voters now face a choice between a candidate capable of holding the seat in November and one who could potentially put it at risk.
“It is now time for Texas Republican voters to decide if they want a strong nominee to help our GOP candidates down ballot and defeat Talarico in November,” Cornyn wrote, “or a weak nominee who jeopardizes everything we care about.”
“I trust the Republican voters of Texas.”
Trump, however, made clear that loyalty — not merely voting alignment — drove his endorsement decision.
“The Highly Respected Attorney General of Texas, Ken Paxton, an America First Patriot, and someone who has always been extremely loyal to me and our AMAZING MAGA MOVEMENT, is running for the United States Senate,” Trump wrote in his endorsement statement.
Trump praised Paxton as “a WINNER” and “a true MAGA Warrior,” highlighting the attorney general’s support for ending the Senate filibuster and backing the SAVE America Act.
“Ken Paxton has gone through a lot, in many cases very unfairly, but he is a Fighter, and knows how to WIN,” Trump added. “Our Country needs Fighters, and also Loyalty to the Cause of Greatness.”
At the same time, Trump pointedly reminded voters that Cornyn had not fully embraced him during the 2024 presidential primary cycle.
“John Cornyn is a good man, and I worked well with him,” Trump wrote, “but he was not supportive of me when times were tough.”
That criticism taps directly into one of Paxton’s strongest lines of attack throughout the campaign.
Cornyn has spent years navigating an uneasy relationship with Trump’s populist wing despite maintaining a broadly conservative voting record. In 2023, Cornyn openly questioned Trump’s political viability, telling a Texas newspaper that Trump “can’t win in 2024” and that his “time has passed him by.”
Those comments have haunted Cornyn throughout the runoff fight and are now being amplified even more aggressively following Trump’s endorsement of Paxton.
The race itself has become one of the biggest Republican primary battles in the country because it reflects a larger struggle inside the GOP between traditional Senate Republicans and candidates more closely aligned with Trump’s combative political style.
Paxton enters the runoff with massive support among grassroots MAGA activists despite years of legal controversies and impeachment battles in Texas politics. Cornyn, meanwhile, is relying heavily on establishment support, fundraising strength, and arguments centered on experience and general election stability.
Neither candidate managed to clear the 50% threshold in the March primary. According to reported results, Cornyn finished first with roughly 42.5% of the vote while Paxton followed closely behind at approximately 40.8%, forcing the May 26 runoff.
