Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated Sen. John Cornyn in Tuesday’s Republican primary runoff, marking a major victory for President Donald Trump and ending one of the most consequential primary battles of the 2026 election cycle.

Paxton will now face Democratic state Rep. James Talarico in the November general election in a seat national Democrats now have higher hopes of capturing.

Paxton’s win capped months of bitter campaigning, which pitted establishment conservatives against the party’s MAGA wing, exposing divisions inside the Republican Party.

His victory put yet another notch in the president’s belt this primary season, which has been dominated by a partisan mid-decade redistricting war. Paxton has become the latest candidate to defeat an incumbent whom Trump deemed to be insufficiently loyal to him.

Earlier this month, Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, one of seven GOP senators who voted to convict Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, failed to advance to a runoff in his state.

Last week, Ed Gallrein, the president’s handpicked candidate in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, defeated Rep. Thomas Massie, who had become a subject of the president’s ire in recent months after he broke with Trump over the Epstein files and the ongoing war with Iran.

Paxton entered the race with high name recognition after serving three terms as state attorney general, during which he became one of the nation’s most combative conservative legal figures. He gained national prominence through lawsuits challenging federal immigration policies, abortion rights, Covid-19 mandates and the 2020 presidential election results. 

His tenure was also plagued by scandal, including a long-running securities fraud investigation and a 2023 impeachment by the Republican-controlled Texas House on allegations of corruption and abuse of office. He was acquitted by the Texas state Senate. Paxton’s personal life also spilled into the spotlight last year, when his wife of almost four decades filed for divorce amid rumors of infidelity. 

Earlier this year, Cornyn warned of a Republican “massacre” in Texas in November if Paxton, with his political baggage, were to be the party’s nominee.

The senator’s rocky relationship with Trump was one focal point of the race. Cornyn became a target of Trump after publicly acknowledging former President Joe Biden’s victory in 2020 and not objecting to the certification of the election results.

“There comes a time when you have to realize that despite your best efforts, you’ve been unsuccessful,” the senator said at the time.

Paxton will now advance to the general election against Talarico, whose campaign has drawn national attention as Democrats see an opportunity to make Texas competitive in a midterm elections year. 

Shortly after the Republican’s projected win, Talarico posted to social media a video calling Paxton “the most corrupt politician” in the U.S.

“The Most Corrupt Politician in America just became the Republican nominee for the United States Senate,” Talarico said in the video, pointing to Paxton’s 2023 impeachment. “That kind of corruption is the rot at the core of this broken system.”

At his election watch party, Paxton characterized Talarico as a radical Democrat in a speech to his supporters.

“My opponent is the most extreme radical the Democrats have ever nominated,” Paxton told a crowd of supporters Tuesday night. “James Talarico is a threat to everything we hold dear in this state and in this country.”

Paxton framed his victory as a rejection of the political establishment, telling supporters that Texans had sent a “Texas-sized message to Washington.”

“We just proved that this Senate seat doesn’t belong to Washington, it belongs to you, the hardworking men and women of this state,” Paxton said.

He also credited Trump’s endorsement as a major factor in his victory.

“When everyone in Washington told him to abandon me and abandon the people of Texas, he didn’t listen,” Paxton said. “I’m honored to have his support, and I look forward to working with him in the Senate to deliver for Texas.”

In his concession speech, Cornyn said he would support the Republican ticket in the general election, signaling backing for the GOP nominee without mentioning Paxton by name.

The primary campaign was among the most expensive in recent history. Cornyn and allied super political action committees poured tens of millions of dollars into advertising, while Paxton relied heavily on grassroots conservative enthusiasm. Polling in the final weeks showed the race tightening, with the two candidates separated by single digits. 

All eyes are now on November, when Democrats believe victory could finally be within reach in Texas, where the party has not won a statewide office since 1994.

Talarico, a former public school teacher and Christian seminarian from Austin, built a national profile during his primary campaign, in which he defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett and shattered fundraising records.

General election polls show a competitive race.

The post Ken Paxton wins Texas GOP Senate primary, will face James Talarico in November appeared first on MS NOW.