{"id":37999,"date":"2025-02-02T18:03:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-03T00:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=37999"},"modified":"2025-02-02T21:06:42","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T03:06:42","slug":"paxton-weighs-cornyn-challenge-as-texas-gop-rift-deepens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=37999","title":{"rendered":"Paxton weighs Cornyn challenge as Texas GOP rift deepens"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton\u2002<\/u><\/a>(R) is weighing a primary challenge to Sen. John Cornyn\u2002<\/u><\/a>(R) in what could be the next high-profile proxy battle between the two competing wings of the state\u2019s GOP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paxton told Fox News in an interview<\/u><\/a> on Monday that he is considering a bid for Cornyn\u2019s Senate seat in 2026 as he speaks with various groups in Texas, saying a decision is likely in the \u201cnext couple of months.\u201d If Paxton runs, the primary would likely be one of the most expensive in the country and the toughest election in both men\u2019s careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It would also further illustrate the ongoing rift within the Texas Republican Party as the establishment wing and hard-liners fight for control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe right wing is ascendant,\u201d said Republican strategist Brendan Steinhauser, who ran Cornyn\u2019s 2014 campaign. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t necessarily mean they have more members in the [state] Legislature than the other wing of the party, but it means that the zeitgeist is very, very conservative and obviously very pro-Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paxton\u2019s statement is no surprise to those in Texas politics, as he has been rumored as a possible Senate candidate for months, if not years. And it would come after a back-and-forth has already been brewing between him and Cornyn, who has served in the Senate since 2002 and would be seeking his fifth term in office. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paxton has often criticized Cornyn as a \u201cRINO,\u201d an acronym for \u201cRepublican in name only\u201d that more right-leaning Republicans use to attack more moderate or mainstream party members. He\u2019s gone after the incumbent over issues like his support for sending additional aid to Ukraine to repel Russia\u2019s invasion and his bipartisan work to pass a gun control bill following the 2022 shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Cornyn has pushed back against Paxton over his record and controversies that have stuck around him throughout his time as attorney general. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Paxton slammed Cornyn\u2019s support for aid to Ukraine as an indication he \u201cwould stay up all night to defend other countries\u2019 borders, but not America,\u201d Cornyn responded that Paxton was \u201cpushing Russian propaganda<\/u><\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Cornyn was being considered a possible successor to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as Senate Republican leader last year, Paxton said Cornyn would likely not be an effective leader because he\u2019s \u201canti-gun\u201d and \u201canti-Trump.\u201d Cornyn endorsed Trump during the 2024 GOP primaries but not until after he won<\/u><\/a> the New Hampshire primary. Paxton has argued that he himself is a closer and more loyal ally of the president. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cornyn in response took aim<\/u><\/a> at legal troubles that Paxton has faced, saying \u201cHard to run from prison, Ken.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paxton was indicted in 2015, his first year in office, on charges of securities fraud over allegations that while a state legislator he solicited investments for a server company without disclosing that he was being paid by that company. Paxton pleaded not guilty and denied all allegations against him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trial was repeatedly delayed, and eventually Paxton reached a deal with prosecutors<\/u><\/a> in 2024 for him to pay $300,000 and participate in community service to avoid further proceedings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paxton has called for a primary challenge against Cornyn in the next election but now seems like he may do it himself. The senior Texas senator was one of several Republicans in the state whom Paxton called to be challenged for not being conservative enough, Fox News reported. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An aide for Paxton told The Hill that the attorney general will be traveling across the state to meet with donors and voters to understand how he can best serve Texas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hill has reached out to a spokesperson for Cornyn for comment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Texas Republicans said Paxton seems likely to enter the race in what could become a grudge match between two candidates representing opposing wings of the party. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you go to the local county Republican Party meeting, there\u2019s a belief loudly stated that [Cornyn] is not nearly conservative enough,\u201d said GOP strategist Vinny Minchillo. \u201cI think people have not forgiven him for making the deal some years ago on gun rights, which a lot of people thought it was a good deal, but at the grassroots level, people did not think it was a good deal.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Cornyn may have some advantages that would place him as at least the early favorite in the race. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steinhauser said Cornyn\u2019s campaign in 2014 \u201ccertainly heard\u201d frustrations and criticism from some Republican primary voters, but he still easily won with 60 percent of the vote in a contested primary against then-Rep. Steve Stockman (R). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted Cornyn\u2019s comfortable victories in each of his past two elections, including in 2020, when Democrats had expressed some hopes of pulling off an upset. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe\u2019s never lost a race. He\u2019s never taken a vote for granted,\u201d Steinhauser said. \u201cHis team has been with him a long time, and he\u2019s just one of these guys that\u2019s a hard worker, pretty smart, don\u2019t make too many mistakes.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minchillo said Paxton hasn\u2019t ever faced a close, contentious race throughout his career against an opponent with a lot of money and resources to \u201cdump the [opposition] book on.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a pretty target-rich environment, and I don\u2019t think Cornyn is afraid to shoot at those targets,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Paxton has overcome electoral adversity previously, having been elected as attorney general three times, most recently in 2022, when he faced a primary challenge from then-Land Commissioner George P. Bush (R), of the influential Bush family that dominated Texas politics for decades. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also overcome an attempt to oust him from office in 2023 when he was acquitted<\/u><\/a> on 16 counts of impeachment resulting from allegations that he misused his office to benefit a real estate developer. His impeachment in the state House and trial in the state Senate were seen as another proxy battle within the party, with House Republicans overwhelmingly voting to impeach him and most Senate Republicans voting for his acquittal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) both stood by Paxton, while Cornyn expressed concerns over the accusations<\/u><\/a> and pointed to Paxton\u2019s other legal issues after he was acquitted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Republican strategist Charlie Kolean said he believes the conservatives have the momentum in the battle over the party, helping to give Paxton a chance at topping Cornyn. He said Cornyn has been associated with the establishment while Paxton has positioned himself as a \u201cdisruptor\u201d and close Trump ally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if Cornyn makes a \u201cmistake\u201d on Trump\u2019s agenda, Trump could be eager to endorse Paxton, he added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou see the old Bush faction that has controlled Texas for a very, very long time, how much of a fight can they put up?\u201d Kolean said. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t think their statewide apparatus is nearly as strong as it used to be. I think they\u2019ve been losing influence.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The establishment did gain a win last month<\/u><\/a> with the election of state Rep. Dustin Burrows (R) as state House Speaker over a more right-wing opponent. But Burrows needed Democratic votes to clinch the Speakership, which Paxton had warned against<\/u><\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kolean said Paxton would likely run on his strengths, like his aggressiveness in suing the Biden administration. He said he doesn\u2019t expect attacks on Paxton\u2019s conduct that resulted in the charges or the impeachment to be too effective, given that he has continued to win elections despite past attacks on that front. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery time they\u2019ve tried to attack on this stuff, it has not worked. He\u2019s still in office,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minchillo said the ultimate outcome could be based on how they decide to run their races and whom the electorate is focused on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf it becomes a referendum on Cornyn, that\u2019s probably advantage Paxton. If it\u2019s a referendum on Paxton, it\u2019s advantage Cornyn,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

thehill<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton\u2002(R) is weighing a primary challenge to Sen. John Cornyn\u2002(R) in what could be the next high-profile proxy battle between the two competing wings of the state\u2019s GOP. Paxton told Fox News in an interview on Monday that he is considering a bid for Cornyn\u2019s Senate seat in 2026 as he speaks with various groups […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":38000,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[32208,23879,1264,1622,1298],"class_list":["post-37999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-cornyn","tag-differences","tag-gop","tag-paxton","tag-texas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37999"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38001,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37999\/revisions\/38001"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/38000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}