Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a main challenge against Senator John Cornyn on the former Tuesday night, preparing the stage for a battle between two politicians who represent different parts of the Republican Party.
Both Paxton and Cornyn have won multiple state elections. Paxton, a republican hard alineator, was first chosen in 2015, while Cornyn, deputy Mitch McConnell of Kentucky when he was the republican leader of the Senate, has occupied his seat since 2002.
“I am announcing that I am running for the United States Senate against John Cornyn, who is apparently running again for his fifth mandate, which would take him there three decades. It is definitely time for a change in Texas,” Paxton told Fox News Laura Ingraham presenter in her program.
“We have another great American senator, Ted Cruz, and it is time for us to have another great senator who actually stands and fights for republican values, fights for the values of the people of Texas and also supports Trump, Donald Trump, in the areas where he focuses in a very significant way,” Paxton added.
A 73 -year -old Cornyn campaign spokesman defended his voting history and said in X that Texas needs “a conservative proven in battle” as Cornyn.
“This will be an energetic campaign and we ensure that the Texans will have a real option when this race ends,” said the spokesman, calling Paxton a “fraud.”
Paxton was accused by the House of Representatives of Texas in 2023 for corruption positions, but was acquitted in the state Senate. The following year he reached an agreement that included a payment of $ 300,000 in restitution to avoid a fraud trial derived from an accusation of 2015 for three charges for serious crimes. He had declared himself innocent.
Paxton, 62, has been a firm Trump ally since Trump’s first mandate. After the 2020 elections, Paxton played a main role in supporting Trump’s efforts to cancel his loss against Joe Biden. Later, Paxton used his office to fight numerous judicial battles against the Biden administration in a variety of issues.
The primary field of the Republican Party for next year’s elections now includes Paxton, Cornyn and Rennie Mann, president of an Independent School Board in Texas.
On the democratic side, only former representative Colin Allred has jumped to the race. Allred, a former NFL player, caught national attention last year when he tried to dismiss Cruz, who won for almost 9 percentage points.
Cornyn won his last primary of the Senate, in 2020, in a landslide, collecting 76% of the votes and defeated his closest opponent for more than 1 million votes.
Before being chosen for the Senate, Cornyn celebrated Paxton’s current work, serving as State Attorney from 1999 to 2002.
