Ken Paxton knows all about fighting RINOs.
As Attorney General of Texas, he was ambushed by RINO Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, who sniffed out enough other RINOs and collaborated with Democrats to impeach Paxton in 2022. Paxton survived the state Senate trial.
On Tuesday, Paxton made it official. He is mounting a primary challenge to GOP Sen. John Cornyn.
"It’s definitely time for a change in Texas," Paxton said Tuesday night on Fox News as he formally announced his candidacy. “We have another great U.S. senator, Ted Cruz, and it’s time we have another great senator that will actually stand up and fight for Republican values, fight for the values of the people of Texas and also support Trump.”
President Donald Trump has in the past referred to Cornyn as a RINO.
Cornyn, who announced last month that he will seek a fifth term, wasted no time in attacking Paxton.
"Ken Paxton is a fraud," Cornyn's campaign said in a statement, before questioning his crime credentials, personal conduct and other matters. “He says his impeachment trial was a sham but he didn’t contest the facts in legal filings which will cost the state millions.”
Many conservatives agree that Paxton's impeachment proceedings were a sham.
It was an “undemocratic assault on the will of the voters,” John Schlafly and Andy Schlafly wrote for the Phyllis Schlafly Eagles organization. “As pointed out during the brief debate on the Texas House floor, there was no justification for concealing the plot to remove Paxton from office until shortly prior to the vote.”
In the November 2022 election, Paxton would go on to defeat his Democrat opponent by nearly 900,000 votes. In the Republican primary, Paxton obliterated what may be the last of the Bush political dynasty, defeating George P. Bush by 68 to 32 percent.
Paxton, a staunch ally of Trump and his America First agenda, has repeatedly questioned Cornyn’s conservative credentials and support for the president.
"It’s hard to think of the things that he’s done good for Texas or for the country," Paxton told Fox News on Tuesday. “I can certainly point to many things like his gun restrictions, his lack of wanting to fund a border wall and disagreeing with President Trump on that, and even opposing President Trump’s election in 2016 and the most recent election.”
As Trump was preparing his comeback bid ahead of the 2024 election, Cornyn told Texas reporters in a conference call that Republicans should look for a newer face to represent the party.
In announcing his re-election bid last month, Cornyn said: "President Trump needs a partner who's battled-tested to restore law and order, cut taxes and spending, and take back our jobs and supply chain."
In response, Paxton posted to X: "Are you delusional? You've constantly turned your back on Texans and President Trump, including trying to stop his campaign in 2024 and saying his 'time has passed him by.' Texans won't believe your lies or forget how you've consistently worked to undermine the President."
It's on.
It's official. I’m running for U.S. Senate to fight for President Trump’s agenda and take a sledgehammer to the D.C. establishment. Together, let's send John Cornyn packing: https://t.co/rQl0P2UnWU pic.twitter.com/1KIajC0JhN
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) April 8, 2025
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