Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Texas Republicans will choose a candidate for general election Senate contest Tuesday Some Texas Republicans worry that the intraparty Senate primary fight could make it difficult for to unite behind Tuesday's winner to defeat a potentially strong Democratic challenge in the midterms. Politics Texas Republicans will choose a candidate for general election Senate contest Tuesday May 26, 20264:44 PM ET Heard on All Things Considered From By Andrew Schneider Texas Republicans will choose a candidate for general election Senate contest Tuesday Listen · 3:35 3:35 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5833147/nx-s1-9785928" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript Some Texas Republicans worry that the intraparty Senate primary fight could make it difficult for to unite behind Tuesday's winner to defeat a potentially strong Democratic challenge in the midterms. Sponsor Message
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President Trump shook up the Republican Texas Senate primary runoff just after early voting began last week. He endorsed state Attorney General Ken Paxton over longtime incumbent senator John Cornyn. That intraparty fight could make it tough for Republicans to prevail over Democrats in the midterm election for the Texas Senate seat. Houston Public Media's Andrew Schneider reports.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Ken Paxton.
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ANDREW SCHNEIDER, BYLINE: Both candidates made a final campaign swing through the Houston area in the days immediately after the president endorsed Paxton. Speaking in Katy, Texas, last Wednesday, Paxton tore into Cornyn's long record of public service.
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KEN PAXTON: He's been in office for 42 years - since I was in college. Can you name one good accomplishment in those 42 years? I'm really asking. You know what? In 12 months plus two - 14 months, I've never had anybody answer that question.
SCHNEIDER: The next day, Cornyn attacked Paxton before a gathering of Houston realtors. He argued the baggage Paxton carries from years of corruption allegations, including a 2023 impeachment trial that ended in acquittal, would hurt the Republicans not only in the Texas general election against the Democratic nominee, state Representative James Talarico, but across the country.
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JOHN CORNYN: The money that would have to be spent here in Texas to salvage a flawed candidate like Ken Paxton has to come from somewhere, and where it would likely come from is other key Senate races around the country, like Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, New Hampshire. It would be hundreds of millions of dollars. And there's still a good chance that he would lose.
SCHNEIDER: Those charges are mild compared to the language both sides have used in TV commercials and social media ads. Cornyn has repeatedly raised Paxton's marital infidelity as an issue of trust. Paxton's wife is divorcing him on, quote, "biblical grounds." Paxton has accused Cornyn without evidence of supporting radical Islamists. James Bramble, a retired army veteran from Cypress, Texas, is a Paxton supporter. He says he'd back Cornyn in the fall if Cornyn wins the primary runoff, but...
JAMES BRAMBLE: If this is that close of a race, then that's an opportunity for Senator Cornyn to understand Texans are looking for a senator who are going to represent their values, Texas values. And he better do it.
SCHNEIDER: Leo Vasquez, a corporate financial consultant in Houston, is voting for Cornyn. He wouldn't say whether he would back Paxton over Talarico in November if Paxton is the Republican nominee.
LEO VASQUEZ: If Paxton wins, I think the Republicans are going to be in a precarious position. I mean, the only thing benefiting us is that Talarico seems like just another wing nut candidate way off to the left.
SCHNEIDER: The last time a Democrat won a Senate seat from Texas was nearly 40 years ago. Mark Jones of Rice University recently conducted a poll of likely Republican voters. Both candidates have high unfavorability (ph) ratings, and he says that suggests supporters of the losing Republican may not back their party's nominee in the fall.
MARK JONES: Some may not vote, cast a protest vote for libertarian Ted Brown and in a few cases even choose James Talarico.
SCHNEIDER: Whoever Republicans choose as their nominee will have less than five months before the start of early voting for the general election to make the case why he and not Talarico should be the next U.S. senator from Texas. For NPR News, I'm Andrew Schneider in Houston. Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{1169:function(e,n,c){e.exports=c(321)},321:function(e,n,c){"use strict";c.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([c.e(1),c.e(2),c.e(3),c.e(4),c.e(82)]).then(function(e){c(3),c(1141),c(116),c(95),c(52),c(491),c(240),c(102),c(104),c(1142),c(144),c(1143),c(239),c(48),c(1144)}.bind(null,c)).catch(c.oe)}},[[1169,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();