John Cornyn Refuses to Help Ken Paxton, Calls GOP Senate Nominee a ‘Lazy’ and ‘Poor Campaigner’

Republican Sen. John Cornyn is refusing to use his powerful fundraising network to help Ken Paxton win Texas’ closely watched U.S. Senate race, delivering a blistering assessment of the Republican nominee who defeated him earlier this year.

Cornyn called Paxton a “poor campaigner” and accused the Texas attorney general of being “lazy” as Republicans face an unexpectedly competitive general election against Democratic state Rep. James Talarico.

“Paxton’s a poor campaigner,” Cornyn said. “He’s lazy and doesn’t raise money. And he basically is not offering a very compelling case for his election.”

Cornyn added that Paxton is making the race considerably more difficult than it needs to be. His comments demonstrate that tensions from their bruising Republican primary battle have not disappeared despite Paxton emerging as the party’s nominee.

Paxton defeated Cornyn decisively in the Republican primary runoff after receiving President Donald Trump’s endorsement. Cornyn had repeatedly warned during the campaign that nominating Paxton could jeopardize a Senate seat Republicans have controlled for decades.

That warning is receiving renewed attention as polling shows Paxton locked in a tight race with Talarico. Recent surveys have frequently shown the Democrat tied with or narrowly ahead of Paxton, although several results remain within their respective margins of error.

Talarico has also built an enormous financial advantage. His campaign committees have reportedly raised roughly $72 million compared with approximately $16.8 million for Paxton, giving Democrats significantly more money to spend on advertising and voter outreach.

Cornyn has traditionally been one of the Republican Party’s most successful Senate fundraisers, but he has no intention of deploying that network on Paxton’s behalf. Instead, he plans to help Republican Senate candidates competing in battlegrounds including Michigan, New Hampshire and Alaska.

Many major Republican donors who previously supported Cornyn have also remained on the sidelines since his primary defeat. Cornyn complained that Paxton and his allies have done little to bring what he described as traditional mainstream Texas Republicans back into the fold.

A person close to Paxton, however, disputed that characterization, saying the attorney general has been aggressively reaching out to some of Cornyn’s largest donors.

Cornyn also suggested that Trump and his political operation should shoulder more responsibility for financing Paxton’s campaign. Trump endorsed Paxton during the primary and appeared at a Houston fundraiser supporting the Republican nominee this week.

Cornyn argued that Trump has the resources to provide additional help if he believes strongly in Paxton’s candidacy. The president’s political operation has access to hundreds of millions of dollars that could potentially be deployed as Republicans fight to protect their Senate majority.

Despite his refusal to personally raise money for Paxton, Cornyn maintains that he remains a loyal Republican and wants the GOP to control the Senate. He has also made clear that he strongly opposes Talarico’s political agenda and supports the Republican ticket in Texas.

The bitterness between Cornyn and Paxton follows one of the most contentious Republican primaries of the 2026 election cycle. Paxton campaigned as the more aggressive America First candidate and successfully convinced Republican voters that Texas needed a change after Cornyn’s four terms in Washington.

Paxton ultimately crushed Cornyn in the runoff, winning nearly 64% of the vote. But winning the Republican nomination has not automatically translated into the comfortable general-election advantage GOP candidates have historically enjoyed in Texas.

No Democrat has won a U.S. Senate election in Texas since 1988, making the possibility of a competitive race particularly alarming for Republicans. Losing the seat could also have major national consequences as the GOP fights to maintain control of the Senate during the final two years of Trump’s presidency.

Cornyn now fears the race could become a political disaster for his party if Paxton cannot improve his campaign operation, fundraising and outreach to Republicans who supported other candidates during the primary.

“This is unfortunately shaping up to be a close and I hope not disastrous election,” Cornyn warned. “But it ain’t looking good right now.”