Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton made their final Houston-area campaign swings this week during early voting for their Republican primary runoff election for the U.S. Senate, with Election Day scheduled for next Tuesday, May 26.
Both visits followed swiftly on President Donald Trump's endorsement of Paxton over Cornyn on Tuesday.
Cornyn told the Houston Association of Realtors on Thursday morning that he remains the Republicans' best chance to beat Austin state Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic nominee, in November’s general election.
"If Ken Paxton, with the incredible baggage that he brings into this election were to somehow end up being the nominee, he could well lose that race to James Talarico," Cornyn said.
Cornyn stressed that a Paxton nomination could have consequences well beyond Democrats potentially notching their first statewide victory in Texas since 1994.
"The money that would have to be spent here in Texas to salvage a flawed candidate like Ken Paxton has to come from somewhere, and where it would likely come from is other key Senate races around the country, like Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, New Hampshire,” Cornyn said. “It would be hundreds of millions of dollars, and there's still a good chance that he would lose."
Cornyn's visit to the Houston area followed Paxton’s by less than a day. Paxton spoke at events in Magnolia and Katy on Wednesday.
The attorney general highlighted Trump's recent endorsement of him.
"I have to say, it was pretty amazing," Paxton said at his Katy event. "I always told people ... whenever I'm around [Trump], good things happen. Good things happen to me, and good things happen for Texas."
Paxton used most of his Katy speech to tell the audience his own political history — from an encounter with his then-congressman, Democrat Martin Frost, when Paxton was flying home from law school, up to the present. But he did work in one of his signature attack lines against Cornyn.
"He's been in office for 42 years, since I was in college," Paxton said. "Can you name one good accomplishment in those 42 years?"
Cornyn argued that a Paxton nomination could hurt Republicans lower on the Texas ballot, notably in some of the U.S. House districts whose boundaries the state Legislature redrew last year at Trump's behest.
Asked about Trump's endorsement of his opponent, Cornyn said he was encouraged Trump hadn't repeated an earlier call the president had made for the candidate he didn't endorse to bow out of the election.
"He's called me a friend, and that's no surprise, because I've supported him and his policies — you may have seen a commercial or two to that effect –- 99.3% of the time," Cornyn said.
Copyright 2026 Houston Public Media News 88.7