Ted Cruz stays neutral in Texas Senate runoff between Cornyn and Paxton
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Republican Sen. Ted Cruz has long remained neutral in the heated GOP Senate nomination battle in Texas between Sen. John Cornyn and State Attorney General Ken Paxton.
“I love John. I love Ken. They’re both friends of mine. I’ve supported both of them in the past. I’ve worked closely with both of them. I’ve endorsed both of them. I’ve campaigned with both of them, and that’s why I’m staying out,” the three-term conservative firebrand senator said in an interview on Fox News Digital on Wednesday.
The winner of the May 26 Republican runoffs will face Democratic candidate state Rep. James Talarico in this fall’s general election in a handful of races that could decide whether the GOP can maintain its Senate majority in the midterm elections. The GOP currently controls the chamber, 53-47.
LOSS GOP SENATE PRE-MATCH GOES TO OT.
Incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas (left), is facing tough Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the GOP primary runoff. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images; Antranik Tavitian/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Cornyn edged Paxton by one point in the March 3 primary as they were the top two contenders in a crowded field of Republican candidates. But the race went into overtime as none of the fierce rivals could clear the 50% threshold needed to win the nomination.
While some of Cruz’s top outside political advisers have backed Paxton, the senator refuses to take sides.
“I trust Texas voters to make this decision,” the senator said.
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Talarico, considered a rising star of the Democratic Party, placed ahead of fiery progressive Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who has criticized Trump, in her party’s primary. Talarico is trying to become the first Democrat to win a Senate election in right-leaning Texas in nearly four decades.
Democratic Senate candidate State Representative James Talarico speaks to supporters during primary election night on March 3, 2026 in Austin, Texas. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
The Cornyn campaign and aligned super PACs spent big money to run ads attacking Paxton, arguing that Democrats would flip the seat in the general election if Paxton became the GOP nominee.
Cornyn, his allies and National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the campaign arm of the Senate GOP, has repeatedly pointed out the numerous scandals and legal troubles that have battered Paxton over the last decade, as well as his ongoing messy divorce.
Paxton, a MAGA supporter who has been a longtime supporter and ally of President Donald Trump and gained significant national attention by filing lawsuits against the Obama and Biden administrations, has pushed back by repeatedly questioning Cornyn’s conservative credentials and past support for Trump.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, speaks at a primary election night vigil party on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Dallas. (Julio Cortez/AP Photo)
The president, whose influence in the Republican nomination fights is still huge, remained neutral during the primary campaign.
Hours after Cornyn and Paxton advanced to the second round, Trump announced on social media, “I will be confirming soon.”
Trump added that he would “immediately ask any candidate I disapprove to WITHDRAW FROM THE RACE.”
All signs at the time pointed to Trump supporting Cornyn.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks to the media during primary night on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Austin, Texas. (Jack Myer/AP Photo)
But more than three weeks after the social media post, Trump still remains neutral. And it shows that MAGA loyalists, many of whom support Paxton, are hopeful the president will stay out of the race, which would be a major victory for the Texas attorney general.
Paxton traveled to the president’s Mar-a-Lago residence last weekend for the Palm Beach County GOP dinner, where he met briefly with President Trump; two sources with knowledge of this encounter confirmed to Fox News Digital. One of the sources described it as a ‘check-in’ between Trump and Paxton. The news was first reported by Politico.
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There was a lack of polls in the second round, but two published polls show Paxton with a single-digit lead.
The race between Cornyn and Paxton is seen by many Republicans as a battle for the soul of the GOP between the MAGA world and the base and party establishment.
