Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says a fellow Republican, Senator John Cornyn, wants him to lose his Senate race on purpose to punish GOP voters for picking him.
Quick Take
- Leaked audio from a fundraiser catches Paxton saying Cornyn “wants me to lose.”
- Paxton claims Cornyn told a friend Republicans need “a lesson” for choosing Paxton over him.
- Cornyn’s team says the alleged conversation never happened and calls the claim false.
- Records show Cornyn has refused to fundraise for Paxton and left him out of a Dallas donor event.
Leaked Audio Catches Paxton’s Complaint
Audio obtained by CNN from a Washington, D.C. fundraiser on September 24 captures Paxton venting about Cornyn’s silence in the Texas Senate race. “He’s clearly not helping. He wants me to lose,” Paxton can be heard saying, according to the recording. The comments came months after Paxton beat Cornyn in a bruising Republican primary runoff earlier this year.
Paxton went further than just complaining about silence. He told donors a story about a friend who ran into Cornyn at a restaurant. According to Paxton, Cornyn said, “Paxton’s gonna lose. We need to teach those Republicans a lesson. It’s going to be hard to learn, but they need to know that their decisions have consequences”. Paxton framed the comment as proof Cornyn wants the party to pay for rejecting him.
Cornyn’s Team Denies the Restaurant Story
Rob Jesmer, a longtime Cornyn strategist, told CNN the alleged restaurant exchange simply did not happen. He added that if Cornyn truly wanted Paxton to lose, “he’d be more active in the campaign,” noting Cornyn has said publicly he supports the Republican ticket. That denial is the sharpest pushback so far against Paxton’s claim about Cornyn’s private words.
Cornyn has not hidden his low opinion of Paxton as a candidate. He has called Paxton “flawed” and said he will not raise money for him, citing concerns raised during the primary. That public record shows real distance between the two men, even without proof of a secret plot to sink Paxton’s campaign.
A Pattern of Public Snubs
Cornyn’s actions back up his words. He joined former President George W. Bush at a Dallas fundraiser last month that backed six Republican Senate candidates in other states, while leaving Paxton off the guest list entirely. Cornyn has also said he plans to use his fundraising network to help Republicans in competitive races elsewhere, not in his own home state.
Reports describe Cornyn privately calling Paxton a “poor campaigner” and “lazy,” even as he says he backs the Republican ticket in November. That mix of public support for the party label and personal criticism of the nominee fits a familiar split inside the Texas GOP since the primary ended.
Why This Fight Matters Beyond Texas
National Republicans have poured more than one hundred million dollars into the Texas Senate race, making unity a real concern for party leaders. Research on contested primaries shows losing candidates and their backers often pull back support, weakening the party’s chances in the general election even when most voters eventually come home. Whether that pattern holds in Texas remains to be seen.
The dispute reflects a bigger frustration many voters share, regardless of party: elected officials protecting personal grudges and political turf instead of working together. Whether Cornyn actively wants Paxton to lose or simply refuses to help him, the public rift exposes a Republican Party still divided months after its own primary ended, with the general election fast approaching.
Sources:
thegatewaypundit.com, cnn.com, usatoday.com, texastribune.org, cambridge.org
