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

AUSTIN, TEXAS – The costly and contentious battle for the Republican Senate nomination in Texas is headed for a runoff in May, after none of the top three candidates among the many contenders exceeded 50% of the vote in Tuesday’s primary election.

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, according to unofficial primary election results.

The winner will face either progressive Rep. Jasmine Crockett, an outspoken critic and foil to President Donald Trump, or rising star state Rep. James Talarcio, who were vying for the Democratic Senate nomination. Both were trying to become the first Democrat in nearly four decades to win a Senate election in right-wing Texas.

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

The Cornyn campaign and aligned super PACs spent nearly $100 million airing ads attacking Paxton and Hunt, with the senator charging in the final weeks of the primary campaign that Democrats would flip the seat in the general election if Paxton was the GOP nominee.

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

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“If I’m the nominee, I’ll help President Trump by making sure we get the five new Congressional seats and keep that Senate seat, and I’ll help him continue his agenda in the last two years of his term,” Cornyn touted Sunday in an interview with Fox News Digital.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks during a campaign stop in The Woodlands, Texas, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (Annie Mulligan/AP Photo)

And, he argued, “if the Democrats win, because we nominate a flawed candidate with an incredible background like attorney general, then these last two years of [Trump’s] the agenda is compromised, and everyone disagrees that we should continue to elect as Republicans. »

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

Referring to public opinion polls suggesting he has the edge over Cornyn, Paxton argued: “It’s very easy for him to say that when he loses a primary, because he hasn’t lived up to the expectations of the people of Texas, and he’ll find out tomorrow what that means. He’s going to lose in the end.”

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Republican candidate for Senate, speaks to supporters during a campaign event the day before the primary, in Waco, Texas, March 2, 2026. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

“This idea that I can’t win a race is not true…there’s no evidence that what he’s saying is true. In fact, the evidence is just the opposite,” Paxton added.

Paxton was boosted a few weeks ago by support from the political wing of Turning Point USA, the powerful conservative grassroots organization that was long led by the late Charlie Kirk.

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

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

Paxton, speaking to supporters the day before the primary, said that “if we have a runoff, the odds improve for me,” noting that the electorate will likely be smaller for the May 26 runoff.

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

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

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And pointing to negative ads from Cornyn and his allies that have targeted him in recent weeks, Hunt said: “They’ve spent tens of millions of dollars against me in the state of Texas, which means I have to do the right thing, and I have to be a threat. D.C. is not going to decide who the next senator from Texas is. Texans will and that’s why I got in this race.”

But Hunt was unsuccessful, coming in third place.

Trump, whose influence over the Republican Party remains immense, has remained neutral so far in the Republican primary. The three candidates, who were seeking the president’s endorsement, were on hand Friday as Trump held an event at Corpus Christi, TX.

“They’re in a little race together,” Trump said of Cornyn and Paxton. “You know that, right? It’s a little race. It’s going to be interesting, right? They’re both great people too.”

Trump also congratulated Hunt and said all three candidates were engaged in an “interesting election.”

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

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

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The big questions looming as the runoff campaign gets underway are whether Trump will lend his support and whether the major outside groups that backed Cornyn will continue to pour resources into the long nomination battle.

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