John Cornyn and Ken Paxton to Face Off in Costly Texas Runoff Election

The four-term senator will have to keep defending his seat against a serious, Trump-aligned challenger following the nation’s most expensive primary.

John Cornyn

Sen. John Cornyn at the U.S. Capitol on April 9, 2025. Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP

Longtime Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are projected to be heading to a costly runoff to earn the Republican Senate nomination in Texas after no one won more than 50% of the vote on Tuesday.

Rep. Wesley Hunt, who entered the race late but whose candidacy represented a mounting challenge for Cornyn, came in third, disqualifying him from the runoff. Voters will take to the polls again on May 26.

“I refuse to allow a flawed, self-centered and shameless candidate like Ken Paxton to risk everything we’ve worked so hard to build over these many years, there is simply too much at stake in this midterm election for our state and for our country,” Cornyn said at a press conference after polls closed Tuesday night.