Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican Senate primary runoff on May 26, 2026. Paxton will advance as the GOP nominee to face Democrat James Talarico in November in one of the country’s highest-profile U.S. Senate races.
Paxton secured President Donald Trump’s endorsement just a week out from the runoff election and thanked the president during his victory speech in Plano, Texas. “His endorsement is the most powerful force in politics,” Paxton said.
The result represents a stunning rebuke of a four-term incumbent who once seemed unassailable in Texas Republican politics. Yet Cornyn’s downfall traces directly to a single issue that animates the Republican base more than almost any other, namely the Second Amendment. Gun rights organizations had targeted Cornyn for years, and the runoff delivered the verdict they had sought.
The National Association for Gun Rights waged relentless criticism of Cornyn’s Second Amendment credentials throughout this election cycle. NAGR PAC branded Cornyn as “the Gun Control Lobby’s best friend in the GOP” and characterized him as “one of the United States Senate’s leading architects of gun control.” In a Republican primary where voters expect unwavering commitment to firearms rights, these accusations carried tremendous weight.
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Cornyn’s role in passing the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act represents the cornerstone of gun rights groups’ criticism. Cornyn teamed up with Democrat Senator Chris Murphy and the Biden administration to advance what became the largest federal gun control package in 30 years. The legislation allocated $750 million in taxpayer dollars to fund “red flag” gun confiscation programs, broadened federal background checks by redefining what constitutes a “gun dealer,” and established new federal firearms offenses. The bill additionally established new federal crimes for straw purchases and arms trafficking.
The pushback against this bill came swiftly and severely. The Collin County Republican Party formally censured Cornyn for compromising on gun control. That local rebuke expanded into a full scale assault on Cornyn’s political future as the 2026 primary approached.
Cornyn’s anti-gun actions extend well beyond his vote for the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. His championing of the “FIX-NICS” Act in 2017 and 2018 substantially enlarged the federal gun ban database, allowing bureaucrats to violate Americans’ gun rights without due process more easily. The law hit veterans especially hard, with over 70,000 additional veterans losing their gun rights since its passage.
Ken Paxton, meanwhile, established himself as the uncompromising Second Amendment defender that gun rights organizations believe Texas needs in Washington. His tenure as Texas Attorney General earned him an A+ rating from Gun Owners of America along with official endorsements from both GOA and NAGR PAC.
BREAKING: GOA-backed @KenPaxtonTX wins his primary in a blowout against @JohnCornyn.
Another anti-gun RINO bites the dust! pic.twitter.com/2XSD4Pi7v2
— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) May 27, 2026
These endorsements arrived after Paxton compiled a strong pro-gun record during his time as Attorney General. Working alongside GOA, Paxton brought federal cases against Biden’s ATF that successfully blocked the pistol brace ban and the “universal registration rule,” securing preliminary injunctions that protected Texans and GOA members across the nation. He sued the ATF in 2022 to shield Texas-manufactured suppressors from federal interference, and in 2024, he contested Biden’s expanded background check requirements on private transactions.
Gun Owners of America President Erich Pratt praised Paxton’s accomplishments. “Ken Paxton is the no-compromise conservative fighter we need in Washington. As Texas Attorney General, he has repeatedly proven that he will not back down from defending our God-given Second Amendment rights.”
This race represents how much discontent has grown among gun owners with respect to Cornyn’s track record. With Paxton now set to face off against James Talarico, Texas voters will have, at least on paper, a more principled Second Amendment champion seeking a Senate seat.
Should Paxton come out on top in November, it will be up to gun owners to make sure that he keeps his pro-Second Amendment promises and focuses his time advancing pro-gun measures rather than cutting deals with the opposition.
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About José Niño
José Niño is a freelance writer based in Charlotte, North Carolina. You can contact him via Facebook and X/Twitter. Subscribe to his Substack newsletter by visiting “Jose Nino Unfiltered” on Substack.com.
Getting rid of Cornyn is certainly a good thing. Trump keeps his “Israel First” Chess pieces on the board as Paxton is one. Also Ed Gallrein, who he replaced pro-gunner Thomas Massie with, is also Israel First. Interesting to see where this is going.