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● InformationalElections / Campaigns

With Trump endorsement looming, Cornyn and Paxton prepare for "knife fight" in Senate runoff

Cornyn is competing with Ken Paxton for the Republican Senate nomination, relying on higher turnout and seeking Trump’s support.

With Trump endorsement looming, Cornyn and Paxton prepare for "knife fight" in Senate runoff
Image · Yahoo News

SOURCE CHECK

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Host credibilityYahoo News75/100 HIGH
This article1 analysis · Oct 9, 2026

Credibility rates Yahoo News, which republished this story. The other scores rate the article itself.

Republished

Republished from Texas Tribune. The relationship between the two publishers has not been determined.

Texas Tribune80/100 HIGH

68 stories · 79–81 · updated Oct 9, 2026

This is Texas Tribune's own score, and this article is credited to Texas Tribune. The host score in the Source Check is Yahoo News's.

Yahoo Newsvia Texas Tribune
Mar 4, 2026
tl;dr

John Cornyn and Ken Paxton advanced to a runoff for the Republican Senate nomination in Texas after neither won a majority in the primary. The article describes their competing strategies and how a possible Donald Trump endorsement could affect the contest.

Community verdict

VOTING CLOSED
How does this story look for
John Cornyn R · TX · SEN
NOT RATEDCLOSED

No good or bad look here

This story reports what happened without casting Cornyn in a good or bad light, so readers don’t rate it and it doesn’t count toward Cornyn’s record.

● INFORMATIONAL

People in this story

SWIPE →
John Cornyn
R · TX · SEN

Republican Senate candidate in the Texas runoff

PRIMARY SUBJECT
Ken Paxton
R · TX

Republican Senate candidate in the Texas runoff

Paxton's version of this story ↗

Democratic Senate candidate and nominee

U.S. representative and unsuccessful Democratic Senate candidate

Donald Trump
R · President of the United States

President whose expected endorsement could influence the runoff

John Thune
R · SD · SEN

Senate Majority Leader who publicly backed Cornyn’s case for Trump’s support

Wesley Hunt
R · TX-38

U.S. representative and third-place finisher in the Republican primary

ALSO MENTIONED  Chris Salcedo, Radio host and critic of Cornyn; Dade Phelan, Former Texas House Speaker; Enrique Marquez, Former chief of staff to former Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan and Republican strategist; George P. Bush, Paxton’s former runoff opponent; Rick Perry, Former Texas governor who leads a nonprofit supporting Cornyn

Part of a bigger story

18 OUTLETS
Cornyn and Paxton Advance to Texas Senate Runoff

John Cornyn and Ken Paxton advanced from Texas’s Republican Senate primary to a runoff for the party’s U.S. Senate nomination. Left-leaning outlets present the runoff mainly as an election result. Center outlets focus more on the contest’s stakes, candidate strategies and Trump’s pending endorsement. Right-leaning outlets emphasize the race’s combative character, with pjmedia.com arguing Paxton is the stronger Republican choice.

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