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Gone quiet · last update May 26, 2026 / Texas

The 2026 Texas Senate race: Ken Paxton's primary defeat of John Cornyn

Overview · reviewed November 5, 2026

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican in the Senate for about 23 years, in a May 2026 primary runoff, a week after President Donald Trump endorsed him.[1][2] Paxton then faced Democrat James Talarico in November.[1]

Read the timeline

Follow this story to see new developments when you return.

Paxton then faced Democrat James Talarico in November.[1]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2025-04-07 (UTC): 10%, 20 of 194 tracked outlets (3 left, 8 center, 9 right)Week of 2025-04-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-04-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-04-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-06 (UTC): 3%, 5 of 181 tracked outlets (2 left, 1 center, 2 right)Week of 2025-10-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-02 (UTC): 16%, 28 of 175 tracked outlets (8 left, 12 center, 8 right)Week of 2026-03-09 (UTC): 5%, 8 of 166 tracked outlets (1 left, 1 center, 6 right)Week of 2026-03-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-18 (UTC): 18%, 35 of 197 tracked outlets (11 left, 12 center, 12 right)Week of 2026-05-25 (UTC): 26%, 49 of 185 tracked outlets (14 left, 19 center, 16 right)Week of 2026-06-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-31 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outlets, so far

LeftCenterRightLighter bar: this week so far

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 3 more outlets off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (6 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
May 25, 202614191649 of 18526%
May 18, 202611121235 of 19718%
Mar 9, 20261168 of 1665%
Mar 2, 2026812828 of 17516%
Oct 6, 20252125 of 1813%
Apr 7, 202538920 of 19410%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. May 25, 2026 · first reported · Headline from NBC New York

    John Cornyn concedes, Trump-backed Ken Paxton beats Texas's senior senator

Background

Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, announced in April 2025 that he would challenge Republican Sen. John Cornyn in the primary.[3] Rep. Wesley Hunt joined the race in October, defying Senate Republican leaders.[4] In the March 3, 2026 primary, neither Cornyn, who was seeking a fifth term, nor Paxton won a majority, sending them to a May 26 runoff. Hunt finished third.[5][2] President Donald Trump said he would endorse soon and urged the candidate he did not back to drop out,[6] Cornyn called on Republicans to change the Senate's rules to pass the Trump-backed SAVE America Act, reversing his years of support for the 60-vote threshold.[7] Trump endorsed Paxton a week before the runoff,[2] and Paxton won it.[1]

Supporting stories (7)
  1. Ken Paxton swamps John Cornyn in Texas GOP Senate runoff after securing Trump endorsement
  2. Trump endorses Paxton in Texas Republican primary, boosting his challenge to incumbent Sen. Cornyn
  3. Ken Paxton announces U.S. Senate run, challenging Sen. John Cornyn
  4. Rep. Wesley Hunt launches Republican bid for Senate in Texas
  5. Ken Paxton, John Cornyn head to runoff in Texas GOP Senate primary
  6. Trump says he’ll endorse Texas Senate candidate ‘soon’
  7. Sen. John Cornyn flips on the filibuster to pass SAVE America Act as Trump weighs endorsement

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 7 recorded updates

May 2026

  1. Ken Paxton swamps John Cornyn in Texas GOP Senate runoff after securing Trump endorsementHeadline from New York Post · 52 outlets
  2. Trump endorses Paxton in Texas Republican primary, boosting his challenge to incumbent Sen. CornynHeadline from ABC 7 Los Angeles · 37 outlets

March 2026

  1. Sen. John Cornyn flips on the filibuster to pass SAVE America Act as Trump weighs endorsementHeadline from NBC News · 8 outlets
  2. Trump says he’ll endorse Texas Senate candidate ‘soon’Headline from FOX 6 Milwaukee · 8 outlets
  3. Ken Paxton, John Cornyn head to runoff in Texas GOP Senate primaryHeadline from Newsweek · 25 outlets

October 2025

  1. Rep. Wesley Hunt launches Republican bid for Senate in TexasHeadline from NBC News · 5 outlets

April 2025

  1. Ken Paxton announces U.S. Senate run, challenging Sen. John CornynHeadline from NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth · 20 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →