Cornyn Confident Against Potential Paxton Primary Challenge

Senator John Cornyn from Texas expressed his lack of worry over potential primary challenges against him by Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton during an interview on local television last Friday. When asked about the possibility of facing off with Paxton in a 2026 Senate race, Cornyn stated that he had already overcome previous primary obstacles and emerged stronger for it during general elections. In fact, during his most recent election cycle in which several candidates opposed him in primaries, he secured an impressive 76% of the vote. Furthermore, Cornyn dismissed Paxton’s possible bid as “speculative” since the attorney general has not explicitly confirmed plans to challenge Cornyn for a seat in the Senate. In September last year, during an interview with Tucker Carlson after being acquitted by the state senate on 20 articles of impeachment, Paxton criticized Cornyn’s silence regarding border security issues and claimed that he had been representing Texas poorly while spending too much time in Washington DC. Although prompted to consider challenging his senior Republican colleague, Paxton only stated that “everything is on the table” for him at this point. The two politicians have engaged in heated online exchanges recently regarding allegations of high crimes and misdemeanors against Paxton which he vehemently denies. While Texas Senator Ted Cruz currently faces a 2024 re-election bid, Cornyn is vying to replace Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell for the final two years of his fourth term in office as Republican Majority Leader from Kentucky prepares to exit his role following the midterm elections.