Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has announced his entry into the U.S. Senate race against Republican Sen. John Cornyn in what will be one of the country’s most contentious 2026 primary contests.
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SA Live deals this week: Stack up the savingsFILE - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton makes a statement at his office, May 26, 2023, in Austin, Texas. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R- Iowa, center, greets Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, left, while Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., arrives at right as the panel meets to consider prescription drug pricing and other measures, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, April 3, 2025. FILE - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton makes a statement at his office, May 26, 2023, in Austin, Texas. , made the announcement Tuesday after spending more than a year openly flirting with a Senate challenge. During that time, Paxton has sought to position himself as a national leader among the GOP’s ascendant hard right, launching some of the first criminal investigations in the U.S. overHis entry into the race, which he made official in an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham, comes as Paxton is no longer shadowed by legal troubles that had hung over him for nearly a decade but did not weaken his ability to “I'm running for U.S. Senate to fight for President Trump's agenda and take a sledgehammer to the D.C. establishment,” Paxton said in a post on X. “Together, let's send John Cornyn packing.” Cornyn's campaign responded by calling his challenger a “fraud" and leaning into Paxton's historic impeachment in 2023 after eight of his closest aides accused him of corruption and reported him to the FBI. Paxton was“This will be a spirited campaign and we assure Texans they will have a real choice when this race is over," Cornyn's campaign said in a statement. Paxton's decision to enter the race highlights his political resiliency and popularity among Texas Republicans after a decade of legal woes that, at times, seemed to imperil his future: felony securities fraud charges, impeachment after an extraordinary revolt by his closest aides and an FBI corruption investigation. Paxton reached a deal to end the criminal case and the Cornyn, a respected and popular senator within the GOP conference in Washington, will likely now have to face his most competitive campaign since taking office in 2002.as Senate majority leader in November after he spent several years as Sen. Mitch McConnell’s No. 2 in leadership. A former Texas attorney general and state Supreme Court justice, Cornyn has helped the party raise millions of dollars throughout his decades-long career and has worked with Democrats on bipartisan bills. Cornyn has received criticism from Paxton and other Republicans after he suggested that Trump might not be the best Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election. Paxton has also expressed discontent with Cornyn’s support of a 2022 bipartisan gun bill that strengthened background checks for buyers under 21, increased prosecution for unlicensed sellers and funds for youth mental health services in the wake of the Uvalde, Texas, elementary school shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers. Amidst several legal battles, the Texas attorney general has become a well-known figure on the right for his litigation against former President Joe Biden. Notably, Paxton led a lawsuit attempting to overturn Trump's loss to Biden in 2020, an effort that the U.S. Supreme Court rejected.. He was later acquitted in the Senate following a two-week trial. The Justice Department decided not to pursue its investigation into Paxton over the allegations in the final weeks of former President Biden’s term, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. A district court judge in April awarded $6.6 million combined to four former senior Paxton aides in their lawsuit against his office after they were fired shortly after reporting Paxton’s office to the FBI for bribery allegations.Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Get ready to spring into savings with exclusive Insider Deals designed to refresh your home, kitchen and lifestyle—all on a budget.SA Live deals this week: Stack up the savings
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