Story perspectives

Ken Paxton Beats Cornyn, Wins Texas GOP Runoff

5/27/2026

Summary

Story summary

Ken Paxton won the Texas Republican Senate primary runoff, beating John Cornyn with 62.45% of the vote.
Paxton’s victory speech called support for transgender youth “weird,” using anti-trans rhetoric to frame race as a culture war.
U.S. President Donald Trump endorsed Paxton a week before the runoff, calling him a “true MAGA Warrior.”
Democratic nominee James Talarico said Paxton’s anti-trans focus distracts from his record of lawsuits against transgender-student protections.

History

Historical Context

Ken Paxton, who denounced the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision as a “lawless ruling,” leveraged post-Obergefell culture-war backlash to win the 2024 Texas Republican Senate runoff, defeating incumbent John Cornyn with 62.45% of the vote after Donald Trump’s endorsement. The 5-4 Supreme Court ruling that same year sparked the statewide anti-LGBT agenda he now champions.

1 of 2

Story summary

Ken Paxton won the Texas Republican Senate primary runoff, beating John Cornyn with 62.45% of the vote.
Paxton’s victory speech called support for transgender youth “weird,” using anti-trans rhetoric to frame race as a culture war.
U.S. President Donald Trump endorsed Paxton a week before the runoff, calling him a “true MAGA Warrior.”
Democratic nominee James Talarico said Paxton’s anti-trans focus distracts from his record of lawsuits against transgender-student protections.

1 / 2