'He‘s a fraud': Far-right Texas AG’s Senate primary challenge sets off social media firestorm

09 April

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in Phoenix on December 21, 2024 (Gage Skidmore/Flickr)

On Tuesday, April 8, far-right Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that he is giving conservative incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) a primary challenge in the 2026 midterms. Paxton is accusing Cornyn of not being MAGA enough and "turning his back on President Trump and the America First agenda."

But Cornyn is pushing back hard.

In an official statement, the Texas senator noted that he "voted with President Trump more than 95 percent of current senators." Cornyn, referencing Paxton's legal problems and impeachment in the Texas State Legislature, declared, "Ken Paxton is a fraud…. He says his impeachment trial was a sham but he didn't contest the facts in legal filings which will cost the state millions."

Newsweek's James Bickerton notes, "In March, the Texas Public Opinion Research polled 700 registered voters in the Lone Star State. Of those identifying as Republican primary voters, 27 percent said they either support or lean toward Cornyn in a potential Republican Senate primary against Paxton, against 38 percent for the current Texas attorney general. A survey conducted by Fabrizio, Lee and Associates between January 28 and February 2 found Paxton leading Cornyn in a hypothetical Republican primary matchup by 53 percent of the vote against 28 percent."

Paxton's primary challenge announcement is receiving plenty of discussion on X, formerly Twitter.

Punchbowl News' Max Cohen tweeted, "Cornyn campaign spox goes in hard against Paxton."

Cohen noted some of Cornyn's scathing comments, including, "Ken claims to be a man of faith but uses fake Uber accounts to meet his girlfriend and deceive his family."

The Daily Beast's Roger Sollenberger pointed out that Paxton is entering Texas' 2026 U.S. Senate race with a great deal of legal baggage.

Sollenberger posted, "Texas AG Ken Paxton, who paid $3 million to make securities charges go away, got impeached by fellow Republicans, was just found liable for whistleblower retaliation ($6M payout), and is reportedly still under federal investigation, has filed to run for Senate against John Cornyn…. And Cornyn is swinging."

The Dallas News' Nolan D. McCaskill observed, "Paxton’s campaign website includes a picture with Trump, suggesting to primary voters he has the president’s endorsement. CNN reported Sunday that Senate GOP leaders have asked Trump to endorse Cornyn."

Axios' Alex Isenstadt tweeted, "Ken Paxton has tapped @AxiomStrategies - the firm behind @tedcruz - to run his primary challenge to John Cornyn Axiom founder @jeffroe - who’s drawn the ire of Trumpworld - has told people he’s not involved."

Democratic political scientist Joel Montfort commented, "Sounds about right. Crooked president and a crooked senator from TX. When did we jump to an alternate tmeline."

CNN's Manu Raju noted that the "Cornyn team" was quick to issue a "statement blasting Paxton."

Raju also observed that so far, Texas' other GOP senator, Ted Cruz, is " not saying if he’s going to back Cornyn for reelection."

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