Paxton, Cornyn head to Texas GOP runoff after Wesley Hunt finishes third

AUSTIN, Texas – The expensive and contentious fight for the Republican Senate nomination in Texas is headed to a runoff in May after none of the three major candidates received 50% of the vote among a crowded field of candidates in Tuesday’s primary.

Longtime incumbent Sen. John Cornyn will face Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton after finishing in the top two in the primary, with Rep. Wesley Hunt in third place, the Associated Press reported.

The winner will face either rising star state Rep. James Talarcio or progressive firebrand Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who has criticized and obstructed President Donald Trump as he runs for the Democratic Senate nomination. Both are trying to become the first Democrat to win a Senate election in right-leaning Texas in nearly four decades.

This year’s Senate showdown in Texas is one of the few events in midterm elections across the country that could determine whether Republicans can gain a majority in the chamber. The GOP currently controls chamber 53-47.

The Cornyn campaign and aligned super PACs spent nearly $100 million to run ads attacking Paxton and Hunt; The senator charged in the closing weeks of the primary campaign that Democrats would flip the seat in the general election if Paxton became the GOP nominee.

Cornyn, his allies and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, have repeatedly pointed to the numerous scandals and legal troubles that have battered Paxton over the past decade, as well as the messy ongoing divorce.

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“If I run, I will assist President Trump by ensuring that we carry five new congressional seats as well as retain this Senate seat and help him pursue his agenda for the final two years of his term,” Cornyn said in an interview on Fox News Digital on Sunday.

And he argued: “If the Democrats win because we nominate a flawed candidate with incredible burdens like attorney general, then the [Trump’s] “The agenda is being compromised, and everyone we have to continue to elect as Republicans is voting.”

Speaking to reporters on primary night, Cornyn stressed: “Over the next 12 weeks, Texas Republican primary voters will hear more about my record of winning conservative victories in the United States Senate and learn more about Ken’s indefensible personal behavior and failures in office.”

“Just like the primary, we have a plan to win the runoff and we are in the process of executing it. Doomsday is coming for Ken Paxton,” Cornyn said.

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Paxton, the MAGA firebrand who gained national attention by filing lawsuits against the Obama and Biden administrations, backtracked on the eve of the primary, telling Fox News Digital, “I’m 3-0. I won three statewide races.”

Claiming that opinion polls have an advantage over Cornyn, Paxton said, “It’s really easy for him to say that when he loses a primary, because he doesn’t appeal to the people of Texas, and he’ll find out tomorrow what that means. He’ll eventually lose.”

Republican Senate candidate Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks to supporters at a campaign event on the eve of the primary in Waco, Texas, on March 2, 2026. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

“The idea that I can’t win a race is not true… there is no evidence that what you say is true. In fact, the evidence is quite the opposite,” Paxton added.

Paxton was endorsed a few weeks ago with the support of the political wing of Turning Point USA, the powerful grassroots conservative organization long guided by the late Charlie Kirk.

The battle for the GOP nomination was a two-person race until Hunt, a West Point graduate and military veteran who flew helicopters during his service and represents a red district in suburban Houston, announced his candidacy last fall.

“I think there will be a runoff no matter what,” Cornyn said Sunday.

Speaking to supporters on the eve of the primary, Paxton pointed out that the number of voters would likely be lower in the May 26 runoff, while touting that “if we go to a runoff, the chances are better for me.”

Republican Senate candidate Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas at a primary campaign event in Houston, Texas, on March 2, 2026 (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

In an interview with Fox News Digital on the eve of the primary, Hunt argued that he was “the best candidate to win the primary and win the general election.”

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Pointing out the negative ads by Cornyn and his allies targeting him in the last few weeks, Hunt said, “They spent tens of millions of dollars against me in the state of Texas, which means I am doing the right thing and I am a threat. DC will not decide who the next senator from Texas will be. Texans will decide, and that’s why I joined this race.”

Hunt fell far short of his target.

But in his concession speech, Hunt said, “This won’t be the last time you see my name on the ballot. I assure you. We’ve learned some valuable lessons, we’ve got some valuable information.”

Trump, whose influence over the GOP remains outsized, remained neutral in the Republican primary race. All three candidates seeking the president’s endorsement attended an event hosted by Trump on Friday. Corpus Christi, Texas.

“They’re in a little race together,” Trump said of Cornyn and Paxton. “You know that, right? It’s a little race. It’ll be interesting, won’t it? They’re both great people.”

Trump also complimented Hunt and said all three candidates were in for an “interesting choice.”

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, at a Whataburger restaurant in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Feb. 27, 2026. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

While Trump remained neutral, his chief pollster Tony Fabrizio assisted the Cornyn campaign. And Chris LaCivita, the veteran Republican strategist who served as co-campaign manager for Trump’s 2024 White House bid, advised a top Cornyn-aligned super PAC.

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The big questions ahead as the runoff campaign gets underway are whether Trump will support him and whether major outside groups backing Cornyn will continue to pour resources into the extended nomination fight.

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