Politics
A Senate Blockbuster Looms in Texas, as Paxton Prepares to Challenge Cornyn
Ken Paxton, the attorney general of Texas, is getting ready to challenge Senator John Cornyn in what could be the nastiest and most expensive Republican Party showdown of the 2026 election.
In an interview on Tuesday in Dallas, Mr. Paxton tiptoed close to declaring himself a candidate, offering up the kind of legislation he would first propose if elected to the Senate — tax cuts — and describing why he felt he could do more in Washington, D.C., than in Texas.
“I just think there’s a lot of things that you could do at the federal level,” Mr. Paxton said. “Trump can use the help and have a senator that actually is supportive and not critical.”
Asked how he made his decision to run, Mr. Paxton began answering the question. Then he was reminded by a campaign consultant that he had not yet officially decided to run.
“Right,” Mr. Paxton said.
The likelihood of a primary between Mr. Paxton and Mr. Cornyn has been growing in recent months. It would be perhaps the biggest electoral face-off yet in the ongoing war between the Texas Republican Party’s old guard and an ascendant wing of hard-right social conservatives aligned with Mr. Paxton and President Trump.
The looming clash has been among the worst kept secrets in Texas politics.
“Good luck with your primary, John,” posted Colin Allred, a former Democratic representative in Dallas who unsuccessfully challenged Senator Ted Cruz last year and has said he is considering entering the 2026 Senate race.
Mr. Paxton, now in his third term, has been increasingly vocal in his criticism of Mr. Cornyn, mocking him on social media and during a recent interview with Tucker Carlson.
The attorney general and legal firebrand has been buoyed in his thinking about a Senate run by internal Republican polling that shows him with a considerable advantage among the party’s primary voters.
A poll by Fabrizio, Lee & Associates, a firm used by the Trump campaign, found Mr. Paxton leading by a margin of more than 20 percentage points over Mr. Cornyn, and it grew with messages painting Mr. Cornyn as the more moderate candidate.
The poll, conducted about two months ago by allies of Mr. Paxton, showed him also winning against a Democrat in the general election, but by a smaller margin.
The internal polling results aligned with a nonpartisan poll from the University of Houston in February showing that more Republicans would “definitely consider” voting for Mr. Paxton than for Mr. Cornyn, and that Mr. Paxton was viewed more favorably than Mr. Cornyn among Republican voters. But Mr. Cornyn edged ahead of Mr. Paxton among voters who said they would “definitely consider” and “might consider” the incumbent senator.
Mr. Cornyn’s campaign did not make him available for an interview.
Mr. Cornyn, 73, has been in state politics for more than three decades. A former Texas attorney general and State Supreme Court judge, he was first elected to the Senate in 2002. Over that time, Texas has turned solidly Republican and the party’s primaries have grown increasingly important, with the winner going on to victory in the general election in every statewide contest going back to the 1990s.
With an affable old guard presence out of an era of business-oriented conservatism in Texas, Mr. Cornyn was seen as someone possibly destined to be Senate majority leader. But after the retirement of Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky from that post, Mr. Cornyn lost out to Senator John Thune of South Dakota last year. Mr. Cornyn is no longer in the Republican leadership.
And his willingness to occasionally work across the aisle, including on a package of gun control legislation passed in the wake of the state’s worst school shooting in Uvalde in 2022, enraged many conservatives.
His approval ratings among conservatives dropped sharply at the time. He was booed loudly during an appearance at the activist-heavy Republican Party of Texas convention that year.
Mr. Paxton, 62, recalled being at the convention — he was waiting to speak — and watching Mr. Cornyn deliver his speech amid the booing.
“It clicked for me,” the attorney general said. “I knew he lost touch with the voters.”
Mr. Cornyn officially announced his re-election campaign late last month with a video that leaned heavily on his actions on behalf of Mr. Trump.
“In President Trump’s first term, I was Republican whip, delivering the votes for his biggest wins,” Mr. Cornyn said in the video. “Now I’m running for re-election and asking for your support, so President Trump and I can pick up where we left off.”
The senator recently posted a photograph of himself reading “The Art of the Deal,” Mr. Trump’s book. “Recommended,” the post said.
Mr. Paxton, for his part, has frequently used his office to support Mr. Trump, supporting the president’s immigration enforcement efforts and, in 2020, suing to challenge the results of the election in four swing states. The Supreme Court threw out the case.
Asked how, as a potential senator, he might handle an effort by Mr. Trump to remain in office after his second term, Mr. Paxton said he was not sure.
“My understanding is that there’s constitutionally two terms, but I am no expert on that,” he said. “It may or may not come up. But he’s got to decide he’s going to do a third term. And then we would deal with the issue.”
An endorsement by the president would be a pivotal moment in the as-yet-undeclared race.
Mr. Paxton, in his interview with The Times at a Dallas social club, said he had already been talking with people in the president’s orbit about it.
“I haven’t directly talked to him,” he said. “I’ve talked to people around him. They’re very aware of this ongoing possibility.”
He added that he had heard “nothing negative, that’s for sure.”
Indeed, things have been looking up for Mr. Paxton lately.
For years, he had been battling overlapping corruption investigations into his actions as attorney general and a separate state indictment for securities fraud. But he emerged victorious, surviving an impeachment trial in the Texas Senate in 2023 and reaching a settlement last year in his criminal indictment, which involved paying restitution but not admitting to any wrongdoing.
“This is not the way it should be done in our country,” Mr. Paxton said. “If you’re elected, I don’t care if you’re a Democrat, the most liberal Democrat, that shouldn’t happen to you any more than it should happen to me.”
Mr. Paxton said his decision to officially declare his challenge rested on whether he believed he would have enough money to take on an incumbent senator. About $20 million should do it, he said.
Respondents in the internal Fabrizio poll, obtained by The New York Times, were not unaware of the legal and ethical questions that have followed Mr. Paxton for much of his career.
When respondents were asked about the issues and actions they most associated with Mr. Paxton, the top responses included “border security” as well as “corrupt/fraud/crook/liar.”
For Mr. Cornyn, the top term associated with him underscored his challenges with an increasingly conservative Texas Republican primary electorate: “RINO” — meaning, Republican in name only.
new video loaded: Bill Clinton Says He ‘Did Nothing Wrong’ in House Epstein Inquiry
transcript
transcript
Bill Clinton Says He ‘Did Nothing Wrong’ in House Epstein Inquiry
Former President Bill Clinton told members of the House Oversight Committee in a closed-door deposition that he “saw nothing” and had done nothing wrong when he associated with Jeffrey Epstein decades ago.
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“Cause we don’t know when the video will be out. I don’t know when the transcript will be out. We’ve asked that they be out as quickly as possible.” “I don’t like seeing him deposed, but they certainly went after me a lot more than that.” “Republicans have now set a new precedent, which is to bring in presidents and former presidents to testify. So we’re once again going to make that call that we did yesterday. We are now asking and demanding that President Trump officially come in and testify in front of the Oversight Committee.” “Ranking Member Garcia asked President Clinton, quote, ‘Should President Trump be called to answer questions from this committee?’ And President Clinton said, that’s for you to decide. And the president went on to say that the President Trump has never said anything to me to make me think he was involved. “The way Chairman Comer described it, I don’t think is a complete, accurate description of what actually was said. So let’s release the full transcript.”
By Jackeline Luna
February 27, 2026
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) accused Everett, Washington, Mayor Cassie Franklin of escalating tensions with federal authorities after she issued a directive limiting immigration enforcement in the city.
Franklin issued a mayoral directive this week establishing citywide protocols for staff, including law enforcement, that restrict federal immigration agents from entering non-public areas of city buildings without a judicial warrant.
“We’ve heard directly from residents who are afraid to leave their houses because of the concerning immigration activity happening locally and across our country. It’s heartbreaking to see the impacts on Everett families and businesses,” Franklin said in a statement.
“With this directive, we are setting clear protocols, protecting access to services and reinforcing our commitment to serving the entire community.”
ICE blasted the directive Friday, writing on X it “escalates tension and directs city law enforcement to intervene with ICE operations at their own discretion,” thereby “putting everyone at greater risk.”
Mayor Cassie Franklin said her new citywide immigration enforcement protocols are intended to protect residents and ensure access to services, while ICE accused her of escalating tensions with federal authorities. (Google Maps)
ICE said Franklin was directing city workers to “impede ICE operations and expose the location of ICE officers and agents.”
“Working AGAINST ICE forces federal teams into the community searching for criminal illegal aliens released from local jails — INCREASING THE FEDERAL PRESENCE,” the agency said. “Working with ICE reduces the federal presence.”
“If Mayor Franklin wanted to protect the people she claims to serve, she’d empower the city police with an ICE 287g partnership — instead she serves criminal illegal aliens,” ICE added.
DHS, WHITE HOUSE MOCK CHICAGO’S LAWSUIT OVER ICE: ‘MIRACULOUSLY REDISCOVERED THE 10TH AMENDMENT’
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement blasted Everett’s mayor after she issued a directive restricting federal agents from accessing non-public areas of city facilities without a warrant. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
During a city council meeting where she announced the policy, Franklin said “federal immigration enforcement is causing real fear for Everett residents.”
“It’s been heartbreaking to see the racial profiling that’s having an impact on Everett families and businesses,” she said. “We know there are kids staying home from school, people not going to work or people not going about their day, dining out or shopping for essentials.”
The mayor’s directive covers four main areas, including restricting federal immigration agents from accessing non-public areas of city buildings without a warrant, requiring immediate reporting of enforcement activity on city property and mandating clear signage to enforce access limits.
BLOCKING ICE COOPERATION FUELED MINNESOTA UNREST, OFFICIALS WARN AS VIRGINIA REVERSES COURSE
Everett, Wash., Mayor Cassie Franklin said her new directive is aimed at protecting residents amid heightened immigration enforcement activity. (iStock)
It also calls for an internal policy review and staff training, including the creation of an Interdepartmental Response Team and updated immigration enforcement protocols to ensure compliance with state law.
Franklin directed city staff to expand partnerships with community leaders, advocacy groups and regional governments to coordinate responses to immigration enforcement, while promoting immigrant-owned businesses and providing workplace protections and “know your rights” resources.
The mayor also reaffirmed a commitment to “constitutional policing and best practices,” stating that the police department will comply with state law barring participation in civil immigration enforcement. The directive outlines protocols for documenting interactions with federal officials, reviewing records requests and strengthening privacy safeguards and technology audits.
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Everett, Wash., Mayor Cassie Franklin issued a directive limiting federal immigration enforcement in city facilities. (iStock)
“We want everyone in the city of Everett to feel safe calling 911 when they need help and to know that Everett Police will not ask about your immigration status,” Franklin said during the council meeting. ”I also expect our officers to intervene if it’s safe to do so to protect our residents when they witness federal officers using unnecessary force.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Mayor Franklin’s office and ICE for comment.
Related Article
The morning after Netflix clinched its deal to buy Warner Bros., Paramount Skydance Chairman David Ellison assembled a war room of trusted advisors, including his billionaire father, Larry Ellison.
Furious at Warner Bros. Discovery Chief David Zaslav for ending the auction, the Ellisons and their team began plotting their comeback on that crisp December day.
To rattle Warner Bros. Discovery and its investors, they launched a three-front campaign: a lawsuit, a hostile takeover bid and direct lobbying of the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress.
“There was a master battle plan — and it was extremely disciplined,” said one auction insider who was not authorized to comment publicly.
Netflix stunned the industry late Thursday by pulling out of the bidding, clearing the way for Paramount to claim the company that owns HBO, HBO Max, CNN, TBS, Food Network and the Warner Bros. film and television studios in Burbank. The deal was valued at more than $111 billion.
The streaming giant’s reversal came just hours after co-Chief Executive Ted Sarandos met with Atty Gen. Pam Bondi and a deputy at the White House. It was a cordial session, but the Trump officials told Sarandos that his deal was facing significant hurdles in Washington, according to a person close to the administration who was not authorized to comment publicly.
Even before that meeting, the tide had turned for Paramount in a swell of power, politics and brinkmanship.
“Netflix played their cards well; however, Paramount played their cards perfectly,” said Jonathan Miller, chief executive of Integrated Media Co. “They did exactly what they had to do and when they had to do it — which was at the very last moment.”
Key to victory was Larry Ellison, his $200-billion fortune and his connections to President Trump and congressional Republicans.
Paramount also hired Trump’s former antitrust chief, attorney Makan Delrahim, to quarterback the firm’s legal and regulatory action.
Republicans during a Senate hearing this month piled onto Sarandos with complaints about potential monopolistic practices and “woke” programming.
David Ellison skipped that hearing. This week, however, he attended Trump’s State of the Union address in the Capitol chambers, a guest of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). The two men posed, grinning and giving a thumbs-up, for a photo that was posted to Graham’s X account.
David Ellison, the chairman and chief executive of Paramount Skydance Corp., walks through Statuary Hall to the State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 24, 2026.
(Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)
On Friday, Netflix said it had received a $2.8-billion payment — a termination fee Paramount agreed to pay to send Netflix on its way.
Long before David Ellison and his family acquired Paramount and CBS last summer, the 43-year-old tech scion and aircraft pilot already had his sights set on Warner Bros. Discovery.
Paramount’s assets, including MTV, Nickelodeon and the Melrose Avenue movie studio, have been fading. Ellison recognized he needed the more robust company — Warner Bros. Discovery — to achieve his ambitions.
“From the very beginning, our pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery has been guided by a clear purpose: to honor the legacy of two iconic companies while accelerating our vision of building a next-generation media and entertainment company,” David Ellison said in a Friday statement. “We couldn’t be more excited for what’s ahead.”
Warner’s chief, Zaslav, who had initially opposed the Paramount bid, added: “We look forward to working with Paramount to complete this historic transaction.”
Netflix, in a separate statement, said it was unwilling to go beyond its $82.7-billion proposal that Warner board members accepted Dec. 4.
“We believe we would have been strong stewards of Warner Bros.’ iconic brands, and that our deal would have strengthened the entertainment industry and preserved and created more production jobs,” Sarandos and co-Chief Executive Greg Peters said in a statement.
“But this transaction was always a ‘nice to have’ at the right price, not a ‘must have’ at any price,” the Netflix chiefs said.
Netflix may have miscalculated the Ellison family’s determination when it agreed Feb. 16 to allow Paramount back into the bidding.
The Los Gatos, Calif.-based company already had prevailed in the auction, and had an agreement in hand. Its next step was a shareholder vote.
“They didn’t need to let Paramount back in, but there was a lot of pressure on them to make sure the process wouldn’t be challenged,” Miller said.
In addition, Netflix’s stock had also been pummeled — the company had lost a quarter of its value — since investors learned the company was making a Warner run.
Upon news that Netflix had withdrawn, its shares soared Friday nearly 14% to $96.24.
Netflix Chief Executive Ted Sarandos arrives at the White House on Feb. 26, 2026.
(Andrew Leyden / Getty Images)
Invited back into the auction room, Paramount unveiled a much stronger proposal than the one it submitted in December.
The elder Ellison had pledged to personally guarantee the deal, including $45.7 billion in equity required to close the transaction. And if bankers became worried that Paramount was too leveraged, the tech mogul agreed to put in more money in order to secure the bank financing.
That promise assuaged Warner Bros. Discovery board members who had fretted for weeks that they weren’t sure Ellison would sign on the dotted line, according to two people close to the auction who were not authorized to comment.
Paramount’s pressure campaign had been relentless, first winning over theater owners, who expressed alarm over Netflix’s business model that encourages consumers to watch movies in their homes.
During the last two weeks, Sarandos got dragged into two ugly controversies.
First, famed filmmaker James Cameron endorsed Paramount, saying a Netflix takeover would lead to massive job losses in the entertainment industry, which is already reeling from a production slowdown in Southern California that has disrupted the lives of thousands of film industry workers.
Then, a week ago, Trump took aim at Netflix board member Susan Rice, a former high-level Obama and Biden administration official. In a social media post, Trump called Rice a “no talent … political hack,” and said that Netflix must fire her or “pay the consequences.”
The threat underscored the dicey environment for Netflix.
Additionally, Paramount had sowed doubts about Netflix among lawmakers, regulators, Warner investors and ultimately the Warner board.
Paramount assured Warner board members that it had a clear path to win regulatory approval so the deal would quickly be finalized. In a show of confidence, Delrahim filed to win the Justice Department’s blessing in December — even though Paramount didn’t have a deal.
This month, a deadline for the Justice Department to raise issues with Paramount’s proposed Warner takeover passed without comment from the Trump regulators.
“Analysts believe the deal is likely to close,” TD Cowen analysts said in a Friday report. “While Paramount-WBD does present material antitrust risks (higher pay TV prices, lower pay for TV/movie workers), analysts also see a key pro-competitive effect: improved competition in streaming, with Paramount+ and HBO Max representing a materially stronger counterweight to #1 Netflix.”
Throughout the battle, David Ellison relied on support from his father, attorney Delrahim, and three key board members: Oracle Executive Vice Chair Safra A. Catz; RedBird Capital Partners founder Gerry Cardinale; and Justin Hamill, managing director of tech investment firm Silver Lake.
In the final days, David Ellison led an effort to flip Warner board members who had firmly supported Netflix. With Paramount’s improved offer, several began leaning toward the Paramount deal.
On Tuesday, Warner announced that Paramount’s deal was promising.
On Thursday, Warner’s board determined Paramount’s deal had topped Netflix. That’s when Netflix surrendered.
“Paramount had a fulsome, 360-degree approach,” Miller said. “They approached it financially. … They understood the regulatory environment here and abroad in the EU. And they had a game plan for every aspect.”
On Friday, Paramount shares rose 21% to $13.51.
It was a reversal of fortunes for David Ellison, who appeared on CNBC just three days after that war room meeting in December.
“We put the company in play,” David Ellison told the CNBC anchor that day. “We’re really here to finish what we started.”
Times staff writer Ana Cabellos and Business Editor Richard Verrier contributed to this report.
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