JUST IN: Ken Paxton Officially Launches Senate Bid Against Longtime Trump Critic
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton confirmed that he will officially be launching a primary challenge against Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), a longtime incumbent who has criticized President Trump on numerous occasions.
Paxton, who appeared on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” to discuss President Trump’s immigration agenda, concluded the segment with a “big announcement.”
“Well, first of all, I’m excited to be on your show to do this. It’s a great place to do it. I’m announcing that I’m running for U.S. Senate against John Cornyn, who apparently is running again for his fifth term, which would put him there three decades,” Paxton told host Laura Ingraham.
“It’s definitley time for a change in Texas, we have another great U.S. Senator, Ted Cruz. And it’s time we have another great senator that will actually stand up and fight for Republican values, fight for the values of the people of Texas and also support Trump, Donald Trump, in the areas that he’s focused on in a very significant way,” he added.
A longtime supporter of President Trump, Paxton faced an impeachment trial spearheaded by anti-Trump Republicans and former House Speaker Dade Phelan in 2023. He was ultimately acquitted after the highly questionable proceeding and no longer faces the cloud of a politically motivated investigation from the Biden Administration, which loomed over his head throughout much of his career.
The official announcement comes two weeks after Cornyn, 73, officially launched his re-election bid for a fifth term in U.S. Senate. When asked about the likely primary challenge from Paxton, Cornyn said he was looking forward to “the competition.”
Paxton, who has served as the Lodestar State’s top prosecutor since 2015, has long attacked Cornyn over his opposition to President Trump in the 2016 election. During Trump’s first term in office, Cornyn opposed the president’s border wall funding plan despite campaigning as an immigration hawk.
The senior senator continued his opposition to Trump ahead of the Republican presidential primary in 2024. “I think President Trump’s time has passed him by,” Cornyn said during a conference call with Texas reporters. “And I think what’s the most important thing for me is that we have a candidate who can actually win.”
He added, “I don’t think President Trump understands that when you run in a general election, you have to appeal to voters beyond your base.”
Cornyn has also faced intense criticism from Texas conservatives for co-sponsoring the most sweeping gun control bill passed in decades after a gunman killed 19 teachers and two children at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas in 2022.
Paxton has repeatedly labeled Cornyn as a “RINO,” or “Republican in Name Only,” due to his past opposition to President Trump. The incumbent has since tried to make amends by endorsing Trump after he secured the Republican nomination earlier last year.
“I can’t think of a single thing he’s accomplished for our state or even for the country,” Paxton said of his opponent in a 2023 interview with Fox News. “Somebody needs to step up and run against this guy,” adding, “everything’s on the table for me.”
A recent poll conducted by Fabrizio, Lee & Associates measured a commanding lead for Paxton. On the initial ballot, before any information is provided, Paxton leads Cornyn 53 percent to 28 percent. After respondents are given more context and background on the two candidates, that lead balloons to 70% for Paxton and a dismal 14% for Cornyn.
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