<div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-0"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Ken Paxton, the scandal-scarred attorney general of Texas and loyalist to President Trump, routed Senator John Cornyn in a Republican primary runoff election on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press, casting out the state’s senior senator and bolstering Democratic hopes of flipping the seat.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Lifted by a late endorsement from Mr. Trump that <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/19/us/politics/republican-senators-trump-paxton.html" title="">infuriated Republican senators</a>, Mr. Paxton, 63, overcame accusations of personal misdeeds and professional corruption, as well as a substantial fund-raising disadvantage, to prevail in one of the nation’s most expensive and acrimonious Republican primary races. Late Tuesday, Mr. Paxton was leading by more than <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/us/elections/results-texas-us-senate-runoff.html" title="">25 percentage points</a>. </p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">The contest again demonstrated Mr. Trump’s <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/19/us/politics/trump-massie-primary-takeaways.html" title="">power to bend Republican politics to his will</a>. As other elected officials learned in primaries this month in Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana and Georgia, Mr. Cornyn found that there were few safe places in the party for anyone Mr. Trump wishes to cast out.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Mr. Cornyn, 74, was hardly a Trump skeptic. Last year he <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://x.com/JohnCornyn/status/1902811136762028118" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">posted a picture</a> on social media of himself reading Mr. Trump’s book “The Art of the Deal,” and he <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/news/cornyn-introduces-bill-to-designate-major-u-s-highway-as-interstate-47-in-honor-of-president-trump/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">recently proposed</a> naming an interstate highway that runs through Texas after the president. But the hard-line Republican base distrusted Mr. Cornyn, and the president endorsed Mr. Paxton, whose main credential was undying loyalty — including his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election after Mr. Trump’s defeat.</p></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div><div data-testid="Dropzone-1"></div><div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-1"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">The Texas race reflected the evolution of the modern Republican Party, which continues to fully revolve around Mr. Trump. With the defeat of Mr. Cornyn, a four-term stalwart in the Senate, the party’s MAGA wing claimed a decisive victory over the old guard of conservatives in the most populous and powerful Republican state.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">With both candidates largely aligned on issues, the contest’s focus came down to personal animosities and a prolonged debate over who was more loyal to Mr. Trump.</p><div class="css-kbghgg"><div class="css-121kum4"><div class="css-171d1bw"></div><div class="css-asuuk5"><noscript><div class="css-7axq9l" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="css-1u67kh9" data-tpl="i" height="24" viewbox="0 0 24 24" width="24"><path clip-rule="evenodd" d="M2.5 12a9.5 9.5 0 1 1 19 0 9.5 9.5 0 0 1-19 0Zm8.5 1.75v-7.5h2v7.5h-2Zm0 2v2h2v-2h-2Z" fill="currentColor" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg><div class="css-6yo1no" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript-message"><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.</p><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.</p></div></div></noscript><div class="css-1dv1kvn" id="optimistic-truncator-a11y" tabindex="-1"><hr/><p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and <a href="https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2026%2F05%2F26%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Ftexas-republican-senate-cornyn-paxton.html&amp;asset=opttrunc">log into</a> your Times account, or <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2026%2F05%2F26%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Ftexas-republican-senate-cornyn-paxton.html">subscribe</a> for all of The Times.</p><hr/></div><div class="css-1g71tqy" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-content"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="css-13buknr" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-spinner" data-tpl="sp" height="24" viewbox="0 0 24 24" width="24"><g fill="currentColor"><path d="M11.28 22.8a.72.72 0 1 0 1.44 0v-6.72a.72.72 0 1 0-1.44 0v6.72Z" opacity=".37"></path><path d="M17.766 21.16a.72.72 0 1 0 1.165-.846l-3.95-5.436a.72.72 0 1 0-1.165.846l3.95 5.437Z" opacity=".26"></path><path d="M1.506 14.653a.72.72 0 0 0 .445 1.37l6.391-2.078a.72.72 0 1 0-.445-1.369l-6.39 2.077Z" opacity=".61"></path><path d="M5.07 20.314a.72.72 0 0 0 1.164.847l3.95-5.437a.72.72 0 1 0-1.165-.846l-3.95 5.436Z" opacity=".48"></path><path d="M22.049 16.022a.72.72 0 0 0 .445-1.37l-6.391-2.076a.72.72 0 1 0-.445 1.37l6.39 2.076Z" opacity=".17"></path><path d="M22.494 9.347a.72.72 0 1 0-.445-1.37l-6.391 2.078a.72.72 0 1 0 .445 1.369l6.39-2.077Z" opacity=".09"></path><path d="M6.234 2.84a.72.72 0 0 0-1.165.846l3.95 5.436a.72.72 0 0 0 1.165-.846l-3.95-5.437Z" opacity=".87"></path><path d="M1.951 7.978a.72.72 0 1 0-.445 1.37l6.391 2.076a.72.72 0 1 0 .445-1.37l-6.39-2.076Z" opacity=".74"></path><path d="M18.93 3.686a.72.72 0 0 0-1.164-.847l-3.95 5.437a.72.72 0 0 0 1.165.846l3.95-5.436Z" opacity=".02"></path><path d="M12.72 1.2a.72.72 0 1 0-1.44 0v6.72a.72.72 0 0 0 1.44 0V1.2Z"></path></g></svg><div class="css-6yo1no" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-message"><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.</p><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">Already a subscriber? <a class="css-z5ryv4" data-testid="log-in-link" href="https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2026%2F05%2F26%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Ftexas-republican-senate-cornyn-paxton.html&amp;asset=opttrunc">Log in</a>.</p><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">Want all of The Times? <a class="css-z5ryv4" data-testid="subscribe-link" href="https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2026%2F05%2F26%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Ftexas-republican-senate-cornyn-paxton.html">Subscribe</a>.</p></div></div></div></div></div></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div>