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Trump-backed Ken Paxton ousts John Cornyn in heated Texas race after scandal-plagued campaign

Ken Paxton, the Donald Trump-backed Texas attorney general, triumphed over incumbent John Cornyn in the Republican primary runoff for senator. His victory

Texas GOP voters vote in race that could shape future of the party -- and the Senate

Ken Paxton over incumbent John Cornyn in Texas Senate primary runoff](https://www.npr.org/2026/05/19/nx-s1-5736175/trump-endorses-ken-paxton-texas-senate) A day earlier, the MAGA loyalist [was endorsed](https://www.npr.org/2026/05/19/nx-s1-5736175/trump-endorses-ken-paxton-texas-senate) by President Trump as the state's GOP nominee

Trump tightens grip on Republican Party with Massie defeat

Ken Paxton, in next week's runoff election. Unlike Massie, on Epstein and Iran, and Cassidy, who voted to convict Trump during his 2021 impeachment trial, Cornyn never clearly broke with Trump. Just last week

Texas Republicans nominate Ken Paxton for Senate seat, ousting incumbent John Cornyn

Ken Paxton in their U.S. Senate primary following an endorsement from President Trump, according to a race call by the Associated Press. This effectively unseats Sen. John Cornyn, a pillar of the party's establishment

‘True Maga warrior’ takes on old-guard Texan in key test of Trump’s GOP grip

John Cornyn on Tuesday in the ugliest primary election of the year. The winner of the Republican Senate runoff in Texas will contest November’s general election against Democrat James Talarico. Paxton and Cornyn have

Attorney General Ken Paxton routs veteran incumbent Cornyn in Texas Senate primary

Ken Paxton easily defeated Senator John Cornyn in a Republican run-off primary on Tuesday night. While the outcome had been expected for weeks, it marks a stunning defeat for an incumbent who served

Texas Democrats think this is finally the year they’ll flip the Senate

John Cornyn (R-Texas), one of the party’s senior statesmen, and a potentially fatally flawed candidate in Paxton with [his significant personal baggage](https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/03/paxton-cornyn-texas-senate-maga-00808211). They think their nominee, state Rep. James Talarico

Trump’s grip on the party threatens his grasp of Congress

Ken Paxton for Senate in Texas on the same day he ushered Rep. Thomas Massie to the exits in Kentucky. But the revenge tour is increasingly imperiling Trump’s midterm agenda on the Hill. That

Trump’s allies in danger of scraping false hope from Maga victory in Kentucky primary

victories. The supreme court [gutted a major section of the Voting Rights Act](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/29/supreme-court-louisiana-congressional-map-case-ruling), giving Republicans the power to redraw congressional district maps to weaken the influence of Black and other minority voters

4 takeaways from Tuesday's primary night in half a dozen states

victories on his vengeance tour, general-election opponents are waiting in swing districts and swing states, and Trump is a double-edged sword — popular with the base but unpopular with more than half the country