Hamza Adam 
With the 2026 Texas Senate election on the horizon, far-right power players are already gearing up for a bruising fight.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), the incumbent senator and former Senate majority whip who was a top contender for Senate leadership this year, kicked off his re-election campaign on Wednesday, playing up his ties to President Donald Trump in the process.
“Senator John Cornyn is launching his 2026 re-election campaign. President Trump needs a battle-tested partner by his side in Washington,” wrote Cornyn’s campaign account, accompanied by a kickoff video showing Trump speaking to adoring crowds. “The radical left thinks they can flip Texas blue, but Texans have a message for them – come and take it.”
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But Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has openly considered challenging Cornyn for the nomination, swiftly hit back.
“Are you delusional?” he wrote. “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.”
Paxton, an extreme culture warrior who has tried to crush abortion providers and spearheaded a wild attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election, frequently bills himself as a MAGA footsoldier.
Cornyn, for his part, has hit back against Paxton as his ambitions to take his Senate seat have become clear. “Your criminal defense lawyers are calling” he posted in response to another Paxton rant last year, referencing a series of legal troubles Paxton landed in, including a securities fraud case that took years to be dismissed, and allegations of bribery and retaliation that led to the GOP-led Texas House of Representatives impeaching him in 2023.
The Democratic field for the Senate race, which comes after a disappointing showing for the party in 2024, has yet to take shape. Former Dallas-area congressman, NFL star, and civil rights lawyer Colin Allred, who lost a closely-watched battle against Sen. Ted Cruz last year, signaled interest this week in taking another run.