'Judgement Day is coming': Ken Paxton advances with establishment incumbent in key Texas primary

Attorney General Ken Paxton advanced in the heated Texas Senate Republican primary alongside incumbent Sen. John Cornyn.

Paxton and Cornyn will now go to a runoff after spoiler candidate Rep. Wesley Hunt secured just over 13% of the vote, according to the New York Times. With 82% of the vote count in as of early Wednesday morning, Cornyn held a narrow lead over Paxton at 42.1%, while the attorney general secured 40.9% of the vote.

'Republican voters are now forced to endure an even longer primary runoff election.'

"Judgement Day is coming for Ken Paxton," Cornyn's campaign said in a post on X.

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Photo by Danielle Villasana/Getty Images

Republican operatives criticized Hunt for running as a spoiler candidate, calling his candidacy a "vanity tour."

"Instead of fighting for President Trump and conservative priorities, Wesley launched a career-ending vanity tour without any substance or political reasoning," the Senate Leadership Fund said in a statement. "While Wesley’s amateur consultants got wealthy on his senseless campaign, Republican voters are now forced to endure an even longer primary runoff election."

President Donald Trump notably refrained from weighing in on the race despite the lobbying effort from Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to garner support for Cornyn.

"I like all three of them," Trump told reporters, referring to Cornyn, Paxton, and Hunt. "Actually, I like all three. Those are the toughest races. They've all supported me. They're all good, and you're supposed to pick one, so we'll see what happens."

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Photographer: Mark Felix/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The three-way race drained valuable resources fighting for a comfortable Republican seat, effectively delaying the GOP primary until May 26, 2026.

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