Politics

A Senate Blockbuster Looms in Texas, as Paxton Prepares to Challenge Cornyn

Published

9 months ago

April 2, 2025

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.

Related Topics:Conservatism (US Politics)Cornyn Donald J Elections Featured john Ken Paxton Senate texas trump United States Politics and Government

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Politics

Video: Fed Chair Responds to Inquiry on Building Renovations

Published

8 hours ago

January 12, 2026

Press Room

Video: Fed Chair Responds to Inquiry on Building Renovations

new video loaded: Fed Chair Responds to Inquiry on Building Renovations

transcript

Fed Chair Responds to Inquiry on Building Renovations

Federal prosecutors opened an investigation into whether Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, lied to Congress about the scope of renovations of the central bank’s buildings. He called the probe “unprecedented” in a rare video message.

: “Good evening. This new threat is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation of the Federal Reserve buildings. This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions, or whether instead, monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation.” “Well, thank you very much. We’re looking at the construction. Thank you.”
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Federal prosecutors opened an investigation into whether Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, lied to Congress about the scope of renovations of the central bank’s buildings. He called the probe “unprecedented” in a rare video message.

By Nailah Morgan

January 12, 2026

Politics

San Antonio ends its abortion travel fund after new state law, legal action

Published

9 hours ago

January 12, 2026

Press Room

San Antonio ends its abortion travel fund after new state law, legal action

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San Antonio has shut down its out-of-state abortion travel fund after a new Texas law that prohibits the use of public funds to cover abortions and a lawsuit from the state challenging the city’s fund.

City Council members last year approved $100,000 for its Reproductive Justice Fund to support abortion-related travel, prompting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to sue over allegations that the city was “transparently attempting to undermine and subvert Texas law and public policy.”

Paxton claimed victory in the lawsuit on Friday after the case was dismissed without a finding for either side.

WYOMING SUPREME COURT RULES LAWS RESTRICTING ABORTION VIOLATE STATE CONSTITUTION

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton claimed victory in the lawsuit after the case was dismissed without a finding for either side. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Texas respects the sanctity of unborn life, and I will always do everything in my power to prevent radicals from manipulating the system to murder innocent babies,” Paxton said in a statement. “It is illegal for cities to fund abortion tourism with taxpayer funds. San Antonio’s unlawful attempt to cover the travel and other expenses for out-of-state abortions has now officially been defeated.”

But San Antonio’s city attorney argued that the city did nothing wrong and pushed back on Paxton’s claim that the state won the lawsuit.

“This litigation was both initiated and abandoned by the State of Texas,” the San Antonio city attorney’s office said in a statement to The Texas Tribune. “In other words, the City did not drop any claims; the State of Texas, through the Texas Office of the Attorney General, dropped its claims.”

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he will continue opposing the use of public funds for abortion-related travel. (Justin Lane/Reuters)

Paxton’s lawsuit argued that the travel fund violates the gift clause of the Texas Constitution. The state’s 15th Court of Appeals sided with Paxton and granted a temporary injunction in June to block the city from disbursing the fund while the case moved forward.

Gov. Greg Abbott in August signed into law Senate Bill 33, which bans the use of public money to fund “logistical support” for abortion. The law also allows Texas residents to file a civil suit if they believe a city violated the law.

“The City believed the law, prior to the passage of SB 33, allowed the uses of the fund for out-of-state abortion travel that were discussed publicly,” the city attorney’s office said in its statement. “After SB 33 became law and no longer allowed those uses, the City did not proceed with the procurement of those specific uses—consistent with its intent all along that it would follow the law.”

TRUMP URGES GOP TO BE ‘FLEXIBLE’ ON HYDE AMENDMENT, IGNITING BACKLASH FROM PRO-LIFE ALLIES

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law in August that blocks cities from using public money to help cover travel or other costs related to abortion. (Antranik Tavitian/Reuters)

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The broader Reproductive Justice Fund remains, but it is restricted to non-abortion services such as home pregnancy tests, emergency contraception and STI testing.

The city of Austin also shut down its abortion travel fund after the law was signed. Austin had allocated $400,000 to its Reproductive Healthcare Logistics Fund in 2024 to help women traveling to other states for an abortion with funding for travel, food and lodging.

Politics

California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta opts against running for governor. Again.

Published

9 hours ago

January 12, 2026

Press Room

California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta opts against running for governor. Again.

California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta announced Sunday that he would not run for California governor, a decision grounded in his belief that his legal efforts combating the Trump administration as the state’s top prosecutor are paramount at this moment in history.

“Watching this dystopian horror come to life has reaffirmed something I feel in every fiber of my being: in this moment, my place is here — shielding Californians from the most brazen attacks on our rights and our families,” Bonta said in a statement. “My vision for the California Department of Justice is that we remain the nation’s largest and most powerful check on power.”

Bonta said that President Trump’s blocking of welfare funds to California and the fatal shooting of a Minnesota mother of three last week by a federal immigration agent cemented his decision to seek reelection to his current post, according to Politico, which first reported that Bonta would not run for governor.

Bonta, 53, a former state lawmaker and a close political ally to Gov. Gavin Newsom, has served as the state’s top law enforcement official since Newsom appointed him to the position in 2021. In the last year, his office has sued the Trump administration more than 50 times — a track record that would probably have served him well had he decided to run in a state where Trump has lost three times and has sky-high disapproval ratings.

Bonta in 2024 said that he was considering running. Then in February he announced he had ruled it out and was focused instead on doing the job of attorney general, which he considers especially important under the Trump administration. Then, both former Vice President Kamala Harris and Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) announced they would not run for governor, and Bonta began reconsidering, he said.

“I had two horses in the governor’s race already,” Bonta told The Times in November. “They decided not to get involved in the end. … The race is fundamentally different today, right?”

The race for California governor remains wide open. Newsom is serving the final year of his second term and is barred from running again because of term limits. Newsom has said he is considering a run for president in 2028.

Former Rep. Katie Porter — an early leader in polls — late last year faltered after videos emerged of her screaming at an aide and berating a reporter. The videos contributed to her dropping behind Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican, in a November poll released by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by The Times.

Porter rebounded a bit toward the end of the year, a poll by the Public Policy Institute of California showed, however none of the candidates has secured a majority of support and many voters remain undecided.

California hasn’t elected a Republican governor since 2006, Democrats heavily outnumber Republicans in the state, and many are seething with anger over Trump and looking for Democratic candidates willing to fight back against the current administration.

Bonta has faced questions in recent months about spending about $468,000 in campaign funds on legal advice last year as he spoke to federal investigators about alleged corruption involving former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, who was charged in an alleged bribery scheme involving local businessmen David Trung Duong and Andy Hung Duong. All three have pleaded not guilty.

According to his political consultant Dan Newman, Bonta — who had received campaign donations from the Duong family — was approached by investigators because he was initially viewed as a “possible victim” in the alleged scheme, though that was later ruled out. Bonta has since returned $155,000 in campaign contributions from the Duong family, according to news reports.

Bonta is the son of civil rights activists Warren Bonta, a white native Californian, and Cynthia Bonta, a native of the Philippines who immigrated to the U.S. on a scholarship in 1965. Bonta, a U.S. citizen, was born in Quezon City, Philippines, in 1972, when his parents were working there as missionaries, and immigrated with his family to California as an infant.

In 2012, Bonta was elected to represent Oakland, Alameda and San Leandro as the first Filipino American to serve in California’s Legislature. In Sacramento, he pursued a string of criminal justice reforms and developed a record as one of the body’s most liberal members.

Bonta is married to Assemblywoman Mia Bonta (D-Alameda), who succeeded him in the state Assembly, and the couple have three children.

Times staff writer Dakota Smith contributed to this report.