On the issues: A Q&A with Ken Paxton and John Cornyn
By Gabby Birenbaum, The Texas Tribune
April 20, 2026
Editor’s note: This is an updated version of one of our primary surveys featuring candidates in the Democratic and Republican primaries for U.S. Senate and attorney general. This Q&A has been edited since it first ran before the March primary to remove Rep. Wesley Hunt, who did not advance to the runoff. See all of our resources for voting in the Texas primary runoffs here.
In a rare intraparty clash of political heavyweights, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is fighting to extend his career in the May 26 Republican primary runoff against Attorney General Ken Paxton after no candidate won more than half of the votes during the primary.
Neither candidate responded to our questionnaire ahead of the March primaries, despite repeated efforts by Tribune reporters to seek their participation. In their absence, the Tribune filled in the candidates’ responses, where possible, based on their past public comments and relevant voting histories.
Both candidates have fashioned themselves as close allies of President Donald Trump, who has so far refused to endorse in the contest. They have not participated in a debate and are not expected to do so before the election.
The race has generated millions of dollars in outside ad spending, most of it from Cornyn’s allies in Senate GOP leadership and around the state, who have been open about their concerns that Paxton — a hardline conservative who has battled scandal through his 11 years as attorney general — would be vulnerable to a Democratic upset in the general election. Paxton, meanwhile, has argued that Texas’ senior senator is not conservative enough and has lost touch with the party’s grassroots.
The U.S. Senate currently has 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats, with Republican Vice President JD Vance able to cast tiebreaking votes. With Democrats attempting to flip control of the chamber during the November midterm elections, Republicans likely cannot afford to lose Texas — making the choice of nominee all the more significant. A Democratic flip would simplify the minority party’s path to 51 seats and give Texas Democrats their first statewide win since 1994.
U.S. senators are elected to six-year terms in Congress’ 100-member upper chamber. They vote on critical federal legislation, from annual spending bills to military policy to ratifying treaties. Presidential Cabinet and judicial appointments must be confirmed by the Senate.
Question topics
John Cornyn
U.S. Senator
💰 Campaign finance:
- Total raised this cycle: $18.8 million
- Total spent this cycle: $23.6 million
- Cash on hand as of March 31: $8.2 million
💰 Top outside spending this cycle, according to AdImpact:
- Lone Star Freedom Project: $17.8 million
- Texans for a Conservative Majority: $26.7 million
- One Nation: $10.9 million
🏢 Experience:
- U.S. senator since 2003, making him the 11th-longest-serving member of the chamber
- Served as Senate Republican whip from 2013 to 2019, the second-highest-ranking position in the GOP conference
- Longtime member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, giving him significant influence over federal judicial appointments
- Served one term as Texas attorney general, becoming the first Republican to hold that office in over a century
- Previously served as district judge in San Antonio and justice on the Texas Supreme Court
📣 Endorsements:
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota
- U.S. Reps. Jake Ellzey, R-Midlothian, Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth, Nathaniel Moran, R-Tyler, Michael McCaul, R-Austin, Pete Sessions, R-Waco, Randy Weber, R-Galveston, Roger Williams, R-Willow Park
- Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry
- National Border Patrol Council
- Texas Alliance for Life
- Texas Farm Bureau
- Several law enforcement, agriculture and industry associations
🗞️ In the news:
- John Cornyn wallops Ken Paxton in first quarter fundraising for U.S. Senate seat, Texas Tribune
- Houston to consider repealing ordinance limiting its ICE cooperation amid state funding threat, investigation, Texas Tribune
- Texas cities, state government cancel Cesar Chavez Day in wake of report on activist, Texas Tribune
- EXCLUSIVE: Sen. John Cornyn Talks Trump, Paxton Showdown and Faith in High-Stakes Texas Senate Race, Christian Broadcasting Network
Ken Paxton
Texas attorney general
💰 Campaign finance:
- Total raised this cycle (since April): $7.7 million
- Total spent this cycle (since April): $4.9 million
- Cash on hand as of March. 31: $2.6 million
💰 Top outside spending, according to AdImpact:
- Lone Star Liberty PAC: $2.2 million
🏢 Experience:
- Has served as Texas attorney general since 2015
- As attorney general, has spearheaded conservative legal challenges to the Obama and Biden administrations on immigration policy, environmental regulations, health care and LGBTQ+ rights
- Served in Texas House for 10 years and Texas Senate for two years before becoming attorney general, representing McKinney area in North Texas
📣 Endorsements:
- U.S. Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Terrell
- U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Richmond
- U.S. Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Flower Mound
- Former Texas GOP Chair Matt Rinaldi
- Gun Owners of America
- Texas comptroller nominee and former state Sen. Don Huffines
- Many individuals who have pledged support as part of “Paxton’s patriots”
🗞️ In the news:
- John Cornyn wallops Ken Paxton in first quarter fundraising for U.S. Senate seat, Texas Tribune
- Judge will allow Attorney General Ken Paxton to withdraw from representing comptroller’s office in voucher case, Texas Tribune
- Abbott legal brief criticizes Paxton’s rushed lawsuit against Harris County’s immigrant legal fund, Texas Tribune
- Texas cities try to address citizen anger over immigration crackdown without riling state leaders, Texas Tribune
- Paxton brushes off concerns about disunity among Republicans in U.S. Senate Runoff, Spectrum News
Q&A
Editor’s note: These responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length. Minor changes have been made, when necessary, to correct grammatical or spelling errors and ensure the text conforms with Tribune style.
Some Republicans, including Sen. Ted Cruz, want to bar states from regulating artificial intelligence, or AI, arguing that a patchwork of state rules — instead of a federal approach — would hinder innovation and disadvantage U.S.-based companies. Should the federal government preempt states from regulating AI?
Cornyn
Cornyn has not taken a public stance on an AI moratorium, only commenting that he was “doubtful” such a provision would survive a procedural challenge over its inclusion in Republicans’ budget mega-bill, where all components must relate to spending or revenue. He voted in favor of stripping a 10-year moratorium on state AI regulation from the mega-bill, which passed via amendment by a 99-1 vote, as senators tried to work out a deal.
Paxton
The Tribune could not find public comments from Paxton about proposed AI preemption. As attorney general, Paxton has investigated AI chatbot platforms.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration established a $100,000 fee for new H-1B visa applications, which allows skilled workers to legally immigrate to the U.S. Do you support eliminating or further restricting H-1B visas?
Cornyn
The Tribune could not find public comments from Cornyn on the future of the H-1B visa.
Paxton
In a November appearance on conservative influencer Benny Johnson’s podcast, Paxton was asked where he stands on ending the H-1B visa. Paxton did not directly address the issue, but noted his record suing the Biden administration over immigration-related issues.
“I want legal immigration,” Paxton said later in the appearance. “I’m not opposed to making decisions about people that we need to come to this country to help us, in whatever area we’re in need, whatever industry we need help in. But it’s got to be decided by Congress.”
“Our immigration laws work if we follow them,” he added.
In January, Paxton announced his office was investigating three North Texas businesses for potential H-1B visa fraud.
The 2025 expiration of the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits is projected to increase premiums under the ACA and lead to hundreds of thousands of Texans dropping their coverage. Did you support allowing the credits to expire?
Cornyn
In a December floor speech, Cornyn said that any clean extension of the tax credits, that does not address issues such as fraud, would be a “dirty bill”. Cornyn said he would prefer a proposal that would redirect subsidies to individuals’ health savings accounts rather than being paid to insurers.
“We know that these subsidies are rife with fraud,” Cornyn said.
Cornyn said he wanted to work with other senators on a solution but was worried that Democrats hoped to run on the subsidy problem in the midterms.
“I understand that Texans need access to affordable health care, but this is not it,” he said.
Paxton
The Tribune could not find public comments from Paxton about his stance on the expiring ACA tax credits. But as attorney general, Paxton has gone after the ACA in court numerous times and has long opposed the law.
A proposal to end the war in Ukraine, negotiated between the Trump administration and Russia, would, among other requirements, compel Kyiv to surrender land to Moscow. Would you support a peace plan that requires Ukraine to cede territory to Russia?
Cornyn
Cornyn has voted in favor of U.S. assistance to Ukraine numerous times since Russia’s 2022 invasion. During Trump’s second term, he has praised the President’s efforts to end the war. In March, he said a lasting peace would require both sides to make concessions and that “there must be real and tangible and enforceable security assurances for Ukraine.”
Paxton
Paxton has criticized Cornyn for voting to send assistance to Ukraine but the Tribune could not find public comments from him on the specifics of what a peace proposal should look like.
A bipartisan group of House members is pushing for a vote on a bill to ban lawmakers from buying and selling individual stocks. Would you support an effort to ban members of Congress from owning or trading individual stocks?
Cornyn
In a January 2026 press conference, Cornyn noted that he does not own individual stocks and that he would support a proposal that focuses on the stockholding of Congress members themselves. But he cautioned that some of the proposals being debated in the House are overly broad.
“We need to be careful that we don’t want to discourage people who’ve enjoyed a certain level of financial success from actually seeking public office by forcing them to sell their stock portfolio, perhaps at a significant loss,” Cornyn said. “I’m generally supportive…but the details matter.”
Paxton
The Tribune could not find public comments from Paxton on House proposals to ban lawmakers from buying and selling stocks. According to his personal financial disclosure, he does not own individual stock. However, Paxton does have a blind trust, and the Wall Street Journal reported that in 2020, the trustee texted Paxton a list of eight stock buys worth $618,000, which experts said potentially violated rules around how such trusts are managed.
President Trump is considering pulling the U.S. out of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a free-trade agreement between the three nations negotiated during his first term. Should the U.S. withdraw?
Cornyn
The Tribune could not find public comments from Cornyn on withdrawing from the USMCA. When the agreement was first ratified in 2020, Cornyn praised it as a “big win for all three countries involved” and one that would bring “serious benefits” to the state and national economy.
Paxton
The Tribune could not find public comments from Paxton on the USMCA.
President Trump has proposed reviving the 50-year mortgage to promote broader homeownership. Do you support this proposal?
Cornyn
The Tribune could not find public comments from Cornyn on Trump’s 50-year mortgage idea. In December 2025, Cornyn introduced a bipartisan bill, the More Homes on the Market Act, to amend the tax code to incentivize homeowners to sell their homes, increasing housing supply.
Paxton
The Tribune could not find public comments from Paxton on the 50-year mortgage proposal.
President Trump announced a plan in 2025 to make in vitro fertilization more accessible by working with pharmaceutical companies to lower the cost of common IVF drugs and encouraging employers to offer IVF treatments as part of their insurance plans. Do you support that plan?
Cornyn
Cornyn supports access to IVF, backing Republican legislation by Sens. Ted Cruz and Katie Britt that would revoke Medicare dollars from states that ban the procedure. The Texas Tribune was unable to find public comments from Cornyn on Trump’s plan.
Paxton
The Tribune could not find public comments by Paxton on IVF. He has vigorously defended Texas’ near-total abortion ban, which defines an “unborn child” as “an individual living member of the homo sapiens species from fertilization until birth, including the entire embryonic and fetal stages of development.” IVF involves the routine disposal of frozen embryos, though some lawmakers who have backed fetal personhood also support IVF.
The Dignity Act is a bipartisan House bill that would provide for the construction of physical barriers at the border, mandate employer use of E-Verify, expedite asylum processing, end catch-and-release, provide work authorization and protection from deportation to non-criminal undocumented immigrants who have been in the U.S. for five years, and offer permanent resident status to Dreamers. Would you support this framework?
Cornyn
The Tribune could not find public comments from Cornyn on the Dignity Act. But Cornyn has successfully pushed for measures that reimbursed Texas $12 billion for its border security efforts, and that allowed Texas to invest millions in border infrastructure and to reserve highway funds for border infrastructure projects. Cornyn previously introduced or backed legislation to offer permanent legal status to DACA recipients, expedite asylum processing, tighten asylum standards, restrict parole, mandate employer use of E-Verify, build a border wall, increase hiring at Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, add immigration judges and criminalize visa overstays.
Paxton
The Tribune could not find public comments from Paxton on the Dignity Act. As attorney general, he led lawsuits to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, end catch-and-release and force the Biden administration to continue building a wall along the southern border.
The “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act ended tax credits that renewable energy producers and developers could claim to finance projects, including in Texas. Do you support the move to scrap these tax credits?
Cornyn
Cornyn voted in favor of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. He has spoken favorably in the past about Texas’ “all of the above” approach to energy, including the growth of wind and solar projects in the state, while also backing Trump’s efforts to expand oil and natural gas production.
Paxton
Paxton praised Congress’ passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, calling it “HISTORICAL legislation that’s going to unleash economic growth.” As attorney general, Paxton sued BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard, accusing them of trying to “artificially manipulate the coal market” by working to move away from coal. Paxton also opposed federal climate regulations under the Biden administration.
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022 allows states to use grant funding for crisis intervention programs, including certain red flags; narrowed the “boyfriend loophole” to prevent individuals convicted of domestic violence in a dating relationship from possessing firearms; expanded background checks for gun purchasers between the ages of 18 and 21. Would you vote to repeal any of those provisions?
Cornyn
Cornyn was one of the negotiators on the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022 and voted in favor of its passage.
Paxton
Paxton has attacked Cornyn repeatedly for his role in passing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. Though The Texas Tribune could not find public comments from Paxton on whether he would support repealing the law, he has condemned the measure as infringing on Texans’ Second Amendment rights.
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This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.
