Paxton is likely the biggest challenge of Cornyn\u2019s political career. If Cornyn wins, it will be a triumph over the hard-right activists in the party and the conventional notion that without them you can\u2019t win in GOP primaries.<\/p>\n
Related:John Cornyn shrugs off polling numbers, says race against Ken Paxton still in early stages<\/p>\n
If Paxton upends Cornyn, it would be a watershed moment in Texas political history. No modern Republican senator from Texas has been ousted from office in a GOP primary. That includes Kay Bailey Hutchison and Phil Gramm.<\/p>\n
Paxton, who served in the Texas House and Senate, would likely bring a more combative style to Washington. <\/p>\n
Some Democrats are banking on Paxton beating Cornyn, theorizing that he\u2019ll be easier to beat.<\/p>\n
Other Republican contenders could emerge, including U.S. Reps. Wesley Hunt of Houston, Ronny Jackson of Amarillo and Beth Van Duyne of Irving.<\/p>\n
The race to fill the office Paxton holds is one of the best on the Republican primary ballot.<\/p>\n Of the major contenders, state Sen. Mayes Middleton of Galveston was first to announce. <\/p>\n The oil executive said when he entered the race in April that he would spend $10 million to launch the effort and more throughout the campaign. <\/p>\n Earlier this month, Sen. Joan Huffman of Houston announced her own campaign. Huffman, a former assistant district attorney and state district judge in Harris County, is one of the most powerful lawmakers in Austin and has chaired the influential State Affairs and Finance committees. During the past session she shepherded the bail policy packages sought by Abbott and Patrick. <\/p>\n First elected to the Senate in 2008, Huffman doesn\u2019t have to give up her post to run for attorney general, because her term runs through 2026.<\/p>\n Aaron Reitz is also seeking to replace Paxton. Until his campaign launch this month, Reitz led the U.S. Department of Justice\u2019s Office of Legal Policy. He\u2019s a former chief of staff for Sen. Ted Cruz and former deputy attorney general under Paxton.<\/p>\n He calls himself a \u201cMake America Great Again warrior\u201d and will try to lay claim to the MAGA voters who are influential in the GOP primary.<\/p>\n Relationships and endorsements could play roles in the outcome of this contest. <\/p>\n Battle lines have already been drawn in the race for comptroller.<\/p>\n Cruz is one of the many Republicans backing former state Sen. Don Huffines of Dallas. His endorsement list also includes Hunt and U.S. Rep. Keith Self of McKinney.<\/p>\n There\u2019s drama in this race, however.<\/p>\n Former state Sen. Kelly Hancock of North Richland Hills was appointed chief clerk at the comptroller\u2019s office, and he will lead it when Hegar departs this week. Hancock announced his campaign for comptroller after his appointment, and resigned from the Senate. Abbott followed by endorsing Hancock in the primary.<\/p>\n That puts Cruz and Abbott \u2014 longtime allies \u2014 on opposite sides for this race.<\/p>\n In 2022, Huffines mounted an unsuccessful primary challenge against Abbott, so it\u2019s not surprising that the governor is opposing his bid to become comptroller.<\/p>\n A third major candidate in the race is Railroad Commission chairwoman Christi Craddick.<\/p>\n Since she was reelected last year, Craddick won\u2019t have to give up her seat to run for comptroller. The Midland lawyer is the daughter of former state House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland.<\/p>\n and make it easy for teens to read and understand.Organize the content with appropriate headings and subheadings (h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6), Retain any existing The 2026 state GOP primary promises to reshuffle Texas Republican politics, as new faces emerge and some veterans seek different offices.<\/p>\n At least three statewide offices are likely to feature a GOP race with an uncertain outcome. Those hotly contested races have already divided the party and pitted some of the state\u2019s top Republicans against each other in a brewing endorsement battle.<\/p>\n The 2026 GOP face-lift will have its limits. The state\u2019s top officeholders \u2014 Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick \u2014 won\u2019t face significant opposition in the primary.<\/p>\n The biggest upheaval could be in the marquee U.S. Senate race where state Attorney General Ken Paxton is challenging incumbent John Cornyn, who has held the seat since 2003.<\/p>\n Political Points<\/p>\n Paxton\u2019s candidacy created an opening for attorney general, which now features three formidable contenders.<\/p>\n This week, Glenn Hegar leaves his post as Texas comptroller to serve as chancellor of the Texas A&M University System. As a result, a competitive primary is shaping up for that seat.<\/p>\n \u201cPaxton has hit his ceiling, and his jumping into the Senate race has created a domino effect,\u201d said Republican political consultant Matthew Langston. \u201cQuite frankly, if you\u2019ve been in office for several terms, why wait? Why wait for another cycle and hope that another statewide seat opens up?\u201d<\/p>\n Related:Democrats Allred, Castro, O\u2019Rourke, Talarico meet to discuss 2026 options <\/p>\n The drama is only beginning, Langston said, and there could be more surprises before the December deadline to file for the March primaries.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are still several other people trying to make decisions on if they jump into any of these races or not,\u201d Langston said. \u201cWhile it feels like we are late in the announcement phase for statewide offices, I think it\u2019s still very early.\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how the face of Texas politics could change.<\/p>\n Paxton\u2019s bold challenge of Cornyn will determine whether the change in Texas political leadership is modest or explosive.<\/p>\n Cornyn is a titan of Texas politics. A former state district judge, Texas Supreme Court justice and state attorney general, he\u2019s served in the Senate under four presidents. During that time, Cornyn has navigated changes in the GOP, including the tea party movement and the rise of President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n Paxton is likely the biggest challenge of Cornyn\u2019s political career. If Cornyn wins, it will be a triumph over the hard-right activists in the party and the conventional notion that without them you can\u2019t win in GOP primaries.<\/p>\n Related:John Cornyn shrugs off polling numbers, says race against Ken Paxton still in early stages<\/p>\n If Paxton upends Cornyn, it would be a watershed moment in Texas political history. No modern Republican senator from Texas has been ousted from office in a GOP primary. That includes Kay Bailey Hutchison and Phil Gramm.<\/p>\n Paxton, who served in the Texas House and Senate, would likely bring a more combative style to Washington. <\/p>\n Some Democrats are banking on Paxton beating Cornyn, theorizing that he\u2019ll be easier to beat.<\/p>\n Other Republican contenders could emerge, including U.S. Reps. Wesley Hunt of Houston, Ronny Jackson of Amarillo and Beth Van Duyne of Irving.<\/p>\n The race to fill the office Paxton holds is one of the best on the Republican primary ballot.<\/p>\n Of the major contenders, state Sen. Mayes Middleton of Galveston was first to announce. <\/p>\n The oil executive said when he entered the race in April that he would spend $10 million to launch the effort and more throughout the campaign. <\/p>\n Earlier this month, Sen. Joan Huffman of Houston announced her own campaign. Huffman, a former assistant district attorney and state district judge in Harris County, is one of the most powerful lawmakers in Austin and has chaired the influential State Affairs and Finance committees. During the past session she shepherded the bail policy packages sought by Abbott and Patrick. <\/p>\n First elected to the Senate in 2008, Huffman doesn\u2019t have to give up her post to run for attorney general, because her term runs through 2026.<\/p>\n Aaron Reitz is also seeking to replace Paxton. Until his campaign launch this month, Reitz led the U.S. Department of Justice\u2019s Office of Legal Policy. He\u2019s a former chief of staff for Sen. Ted Cruz and former deputy attorney general under Paxton.<\/p>\n He calls himself a \u201cMake America Great Again warrior\u201d and will try to lay claim to the MAGA voters who are influential in the GOP primary.<\/p>\n Relationships and endorsements could play roles in the outcome of this contest. <\/p>\n Battle lines have already been drawn in the race for comptroller.<\/p>\n Cruz is one of the many Republicans backing former state Sen. Don Huffines of Dallas. His endorsement list also includes Hunt and U.S. Rep. Keith Self of McKinney.<\/p>\n There\u2019s drama in this race, however.<\/p>\n Former state Sen. Kelly Hancock of North Richland Hills was appointed chief clerk at the comptroller\u2019s office, and he will lead it when Hegar departs this week. Hancock announced his campaign for comptroller after his appointment, and resigned from the Senate. Abbott followed by endorsing Hancock in the primary.<\/p>\n That puts Cruz and Abbott \u2014 longtime allies \u2014 on opposite sides for this race.<\/p>\n In 2022, Huffines mounted an unsuccessful primary challenge against Abbott, so it\u2019s not surprising that the governor is opposing his bid to become comptroller.<\/p>\n A third major candidate in the race is Railroad Commission chairwoman Christi Craddick.<\/p>\n Since she was reelected last year, Craddick won\u2019t have to give up her seat to run for comptroller. The Midland lawyer is the daughter of former state House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland.<\/p>\n and integrate them seamlessly into the new content without adding new ‘ The 2026 state GOP primary promises to reshuffle Texas Republican politics, as new faces emerge and some veterans seek different offices. At least three statewide offices are likely to feature a GOP race with an uncertain outcome. Those hotly contested races have already divided the party and pitted some of the state\u2019s top Republicans […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":8641,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-8640","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/7UN3X7IEMZE23PW3DFO4HYB23Q.jpg?auth=21ef1a0bfcc93defe324f027d623dc8617109d74b7161ea9e663ec4ede2226fa&height=630&width=1200&smart=true&quality=80","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8640"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8640"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8640\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8642,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8640\/revisions\/8642"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"FILE](\"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/DVDEKFGBOA426IBGFLJEX3PESA.jpg?auth=fbc40e168337c7693acc0cd660c1216e78993e595e97fd2eca16e0654e2ec52e&width=830&quality=80\")
FILE – Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, speaks during a House Judiciary Committee meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 1, 2023. (AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite, File)(J. Scott Applewhite \/ AP)<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Sen.](\"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/HROBCKA6PVHHDDHGEIRYYMFVDU.jpg?auth=c052dc0c70c006ba2b933940414f8fc11d77130f952ad08c6084055591800948&width=830&quality=80\")
Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, on the Senate floor during the second day of the 89th regular session at the Texas State Capitol in Austin on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Juan Figueroa \/ Staff Photographer)<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Sen.](\"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/74HVJJ2GUZCYJM3I7VTDFVJCIU.png?auth=06b8ef3f0fe28f56aae0716b8cff4eb44d25f2d5775a718e59ef1eebcb7cffcf&width=830&quality=80\")
Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, presented Senate Bill 240 during a full chamber debate on April 23, 2025.(Texas Senate)<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Former](\"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/XCBPBQ2BGVEUJGYG7VAQY3LAW4.jpg?auth=8e990acfea0504691b40b588016092aed22cd774b192258f359f92f2fa91a198&width=830&quality=80\")
Former Texas state Sen. Don Huffines waves to the crowd after speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday, July 10, 2021, in Dallas. (Elias Valverde II\/The Dallas Morning News)(Elias Valverde II \/ Staff Photographer)<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Texas](\"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/MHLVAX2IA5DCJFQZ4VMMHXZ55I.JPG?auth=8e1fb9593c53c0341f96f713417566573ae80c3310c0c09b8ea611d04668cfe7&width=830&quality=80\")
Texas state Sen. Kelly Hancock, pictured during the first day of a legislative special session on Tuesday, July 18, 2017 at the Texas state capitol in Austin, Texas.(Ashley Landis \/ Staff Photographer)<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Railroad](\"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/UJX56ZXZXRBLPFH75PP6FKYYIM.jpg?auth=fbf4f23b3e27e3ddca51ff200379ab540ea7ad7ea001c4c3e20e27fd8ab87904&width=830&quality=80\")
Railroad Commissioner of Texas Christi Craddick during a general meeting as part of the 2022 Republican Party of Texas State Convention at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas on Friday, June 17, 2022.(Lola Gomez \/ Staff Photographer)<\/span><\/p>\n tags from <\/p>\n
![\"U.S.](\"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/ZAR776ZJIZEBLDO2XTMOV4GCR4.jpg?auth=b30c834f2195aaeb484a77b0d56bcf570eaa0baca9c006cc66fe894d7b8aa237&width=830&quality=80\")
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (left) is seeking reelection. He faces a challenge from Attorney General Ken Paxton (right) in the 2026 Republican primary. This is a composite of two Associated Press photos.(The Associated Press \/ AP)<\/span><\/p>\nFILE – Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, speaks during a House Judiciary Committee meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 1, 2023. (AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite, File)(J. Scott Applewhite \/ AP)<\/span><\/p>\nSen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, on the Senate floor during the second day of the 89th regular session at the Texas State Capitol in Austin on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Juan Figueroa \/ Staff Photographer)<\/span><\/p>\nSen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, presented Senate Bill 240 during a full chamber debate on April 23, 2025.(Texas Senate)<\/span><\/p>\nFormer Texas state Sen. Don Huffines waves to the crowd after speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday, July 10, 2021, in Dallas. (Elias Valverde II\/The Dallas Morning News)(Elias Valverde II \/ Staff Photographer)<\/span><\/p>\nTexas state Sen. Kelly Hancock, pictured during the first day of a legislative special session on Tuesday, July 18, 2017 at the Texas state capitol in Austin, Texas.(Ashley Landis \/ Staff Photographer)<\/span><\/p>\nRailroad Commissioner of Texas Christi Craddick during a general meeting as part of the 2022 Republican Party of Texas State Convention at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas on Friday, June 17, 2022.(Lola Gomez \/ Staff Photographer)<\/span><\/p>\n tags. Include conclusion section and FAQs section with questions and answers at the end. do not include the title. it must return only article i dont want any extra information or introductory text with article e.g: ” Here is rewritten article:” or “Here is the rewritten content:”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"