TEXAS — U.S. Senator John Cornyn stated in June 2026 that he would not campaign or raise money for Ken Paxton, who defeated him for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination in May 2026.

Cornyn described Paxton as corrupt and unfit for office during the primary. He told The New York Times that he believed Paxton's nomination threatened GOP control of the Senate seat and down-ballot races. Cornyn said, "It's going to make things harder, certainly more expensive in Texas, and make it harder around the country."

Cornyn told Semafor he would leave it to President Donald Trump to provide the "tens of millions of dollars" Paxton's campaign would need for the general election. He also stated, "Trump is going to have the most miserable two years of his life in the last two years of his term, I think, because I think November is going to be a disaster." Cornyn predicted in The New York Times that Trump would regret his endorsement of Paxton.

Following the primary, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick called Cornyn one of two "sore losers" among Republicans at the Texas GOP convention. Patrick said, "I've already seen bad behavior by two Republicans who lost." He added, "We cannot have any people deserting our party in November of 2026 if we're going to keep Texas red." Cornyn responded in an interview with Semafor that the actions of Texas GOP leaders alienate traditional conservative Republicans and "Makes no sense whatsoever."

Separately, Paxton spokesperson Madison Cercy called on James Talarico to publicly apologize for what she characterized as sexist and racist attacks during the primary. Recent polling found Talarico narrowly trailing Paxton overall, while also winning up to 30% of Cornyn's supporters. Although Cornyn said he would not campaign or raise funds for Paxton, he confirmed that he would support the Republican ticket.