As the May 19, 2026, Texas U.S. Senate election nears, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, shifts his focus to the Democratic nominee, state Rep. James Talarico, while Sen. John Cornyn's campaign is spending far more funds on advertising compared to Paxton's. Cornyn has been accused of supporting Trump's agenda less often than Paxton.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton , a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, speaks to supporters at a campaign event in McKinney, Texas, Tuesday, May 19, 2026.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks during a campaign event in Lubbock, Texas, Tuesday, May 19, 2026. Supporters holds a Sen.
John Cornyn, R-Texas, sign during his campaign event in Lubbock, Texas, Tuesday, May 19, 2026. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, listens to State Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, during a campaign event in Lubbock, Texas, Tuesday, May 19, 2026.
“I don’t know if y'all noticed this, but Donald Trump endorsed me,” Paxton told a small rally in a town outside Austin, inciting whoops and applause from the crowd. Tuesday's election has drawn national attention and gobs of money.
It's also become the latest contest in which Trump is encouraging voters to boot a politician who have displeased him — in this case, Cornyn — in favor of a challenger more aligned with the president. That effort has been largely successful for Trump. Earlier this week, Republican Rep.his Kentucky primary against Ed Gallrein, whom Trump had handpicked and backed. He also has defeated incumbents in Louisiana and Indiana.
Paxton has been turning his focus to the Democratic nominee, state Rep. James Talarico. Paxton opened his event Thursday with attacks on Talarico, a sign of his confidence heading into Tuesday. Paxton then gave a biography of his political life, and tried hammering home the reason he says he should be the Republican nominee: He's unleashed a barrage of lawsuits defending conservative values for years.
It's the type of resume that endears Paxton to the Make America Great Again faithful, some of his supporters said.
“He’s a fighter, he’s a person of action, he’s proven that as attorney general,” said Jeffrey Sonnier, 72, who attended the rally and echoed what many supporters there voiced. As for Cornyn, said Sonnier, “he’s inactive for five years and digs out to become a supposed active Republican MAGA person every six years. ”Paxton’s campaign said Thursday that it's pulling negative ads against Cornyn.
Instead, starting after Trump's Tuesday endorsement, the campaign and a super PAC that supports his candidacy began airing separate ads touting Trump's favor. Cornyn’s campaign and groups supporting him, however, were outspending the pro-Paxton groups three-to-one, and had reprised an ad they began airing last year noting Cornyn’s support for Trump’s agenda and featuring video clips of Trump praising Cornyn.
“He's called me a friend, and that's no surprise because I've supported him and his policies, you may have seen a commercial or two to that effect, 99.3% of the time,” said Cornyn in a video posted to X from a recent event. Cornyn has also long worked to shift the race to focus not on fidelity to the president but on character.
If Paxton is the nominee, that will be litigated in a general election against Talarico, where voters will be less “willing to overlook all the corruption, the self-dealing and the scandals,” Cornyn argued at a recent campaign event.
“Ken Paxton would hand it to on a silver platter. ”“He’s had his flaws, but so have we; we all make mistakes,” said Daniel Vega, 18, adding, “He’s repented, let’s move on. ”Through this week, Cornyn’s campaign and groups supporting it will have spent roughly $90 million in advertising, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact, including more than $20 million since the March 3 primary election.
Paxton’s campaign and the single super PAC have combined to spend roughly $10.5 million on advertising, with roughly $6.1 million since the March 3 primary.
“The commercials are leading me against Paxton, that he might be a little crooked,” said Gail Licea, 74, a retired registered nurse, who attended a Cornyn event before Trump’s endorsement. Then again, she said, “I’ve been led to believe that sometimes John Cornyn doesn’t back President Donald Trump, and that concerns me.
” The advertising has been so concentrated, it was unclear how much the late pivot by the groups would affect Tuesday’s outcome, said Wayne Hamilton, former executive director of the Texas Republican Party.
“There is so much noise out there right now,” said Hamilton, who is an adviser to Gov. Greg Abbott and is unaffiliated with either of the Senate candidates.
“I don’t know how any one message is going to break through. ” Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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