John Cornyn called Ken Paxton lazy after losing a $130 million primary fight to him.
That was months ago and Cornyn has not let go.
He just made clear in Dallas exactly where Texas Republicans stand.
Ken Paxton Excluded as Cornyn and Bush Raise Millions for Six Senate Races
The Dallas fundraiser for "Maintain the Majority" drew the old-guard Republican money that John Cornyn spent decades building. He hosted, George W. Bush attended as special guest, and together they raised cash for six GOP Senate nominees in battleground states – Maine, Ohio, Alaska, Iowa, Michigan, and New Hampshire.
Texas was not on the list.
The two most powerful establishment Republicans in the Lone Star State spent their evening rescuing candidates in states they don’t live in – while the one nominee they share a home state with got nothing.
That nominee is Ken Paxton, the sitting Texas Attorney General who beat Cornyn in May by 27.6%, after a primary Cornyn and his establishment allies poured everything into winning.
Since then, Cornyn has not stopped punching.
He called Paxton "lazy" and a "poor campaigner," told one reporter that Paxton "basically is not offering a very compelling case for his election," and told another that his "lack of good moral character is very well documented."
What Cornyn has not done is write a check.
Ken Paxton Trails James Talarico 200 to 1 in Ad Spending While Cornyn Sits Out Texas
The funding gap in the Texas Senate race is not academic. Democrat James Talarico raised $30 million in the second quarter of 2026 alone. Paxton raised $9 million in that same period, and on direct campaign advertising, Talarico has outspent him by nearly 200 to one.
That is the race Cornyn is watching from the sidelines – by choice. His longtime donor network, one of the most powerful fundraising machines in Senate history, has largely sat out the general election, with the checks that used to pour into Texas GOP coffers going elsewhere and staying there.
Trump and Senate super PACs have stepped into the void, committing more than $80 million in Texas advertising to prop up Paxton's campaign while Cornyn sits on his hands.
His suggestion? He told reporters Trump could "write a check if he wanted Paxton to be the nominee, with all his wrinkles and warts."
The man who burned $130 million trying to keep Paxton out of this race now thinks Paxton's funding is someone else's problem.
Polls back up what the fundraising numbers already showed. Talarico leads Paxton in several recent surveys, with one NBC poll putting the Democrat up 46 to 43. Forecasters who once rated this race a safe Republican hold now call it a toss-up. Texas, which has not sent a Democrat to the Senate in 38 years, is genuinely in play.
Republican Establishment Has Run This Play Before and Texas Is Paying the Price
Cornyn has been through this before. In 2010, Delaware Republicans watched Christine O'Donnell upset nine-term Congressman Mike Castle in the Senate primary. The National Republican Senatorial Committee initially signaled it would not help O'Donnell – the establishment was furious, the knives were out, and nobody wanted to hand her a check.
Then the pressure got loud enough. Cornyn, who chaired the committee at the time, eventually cut O'Donnell the maximum $42,000 donation and pledged full support. He blinked.
This time he is hosting fundraisers in the same city where Paxton is fighting for his political life, making sure not one dollar from that event goes to Texas.
Delaware was always a long shot. Texas has been a guaranteed Republican Senate seat for nearly four decades.
Cornyn is running a grudge operation, not a party one. He walks out of the Senate in January regardless of what happens in November.
If Paxton loses and a Democrat takes the Texas seat for the first time since Lloyd Bentsen, Cornyn walks away with his told-you-so. If Paxton wins, Cornyn spent months working against his own state for nothing. The Texas voters he spent decades claiming to represent are the ones who pay for it either way.
Sources:
- Jeff Charles, "Sour Grapes: Cornyn & Bush Fundraise for Everyone but Paxton," Townhall, September 22, 2026.
- "Paxton snubbed from Texas fundraising event with George W. Bush and Cornyn," Washington Examiner, September 22, 2026.
- "Republican leaders pledge support for O'Donnell after infighting," Fox News, September 15, 2010.