CPAC activists rally behind Ken Paxton for Texas Senate over John Cornyn

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was the dominant figure at CPAC near Dallas, where activists and speakers rallied behind him as Republicans’ pick for U.S. Senate rather than Sen. John Cornyn. Paxton’s prominence at the event reflected the influence of the MAGA wing of the Texas GOP as Republicans look to hold on to a congressional seat and advance toward a May 26 runoff.

At CPAC, Paxton met with supporters behind closed doors, delivered the keynote address at a Ronald Reagan dinner, and held court during a private reception. According to the event coverage, people lined up for handshakes and photos as attendees cheered Paxton and booed at mentions of Cornyn.

Paxton and Cornyn both entered the contest after the March 3 primary failed to produce an outright nomination for either candidate. The winner of the runoff is set to face Democrat James Talarico, a state lawmaker, in what the coverage described as one of the most closely watched Senate races for Republicans trying to retain control of Congress.

Cornyn did not attend CPAC, which was held at a resort and convention center near Dallas. Paxton, by contrast, was described as the overwhelming favorite in CPAC’s straw poll, where he beat Cornyn by more than three to one, and he won the organization’s endorsement.

In the CPAC setting, Paxton’s backers emphasized his ties to President Donald Trump and the message that he is aligned with the right wing’s priorities. In his Friday night speech, Paxton described overcoming his impeachment and acquittal by the Texas Legislature on corruption charges three years earlier, telling the crowd: “I want you to know, there’s only one reason I got through all that, and it’s by the grace of God,” adding, “He absolutely delivered me, and he used to people of Texas to deliver me.”

The coverage also described how Paxton cultivated support by embracing legislation known as the SAVE Act, which would require new, strict proof-of-citizenship requirements for voting. Paxton’s campaign said the move was part of an appeal to Trump, and the event coverage said the SAVE Act had stalled in the Senate because Republican leaders did not want to lift the filibuster.

Paxton’s remarks and record set up a sharper contrast with Cornyn among conservatives at CPAC. Paxton said he would consider stepping aside if the legislation passed and accused Cornyn of being a “coward,” and the story said Cornyn later reversed his position on the filibuster and wrote an op-ed stating: “I support whatever changes to Senate rules that may prove necessary.”

During his Saturday reception, Paxton told supporters that Cornyn’s shift had come only after Paxton called it out. “Unfortunately, John Cornyn has never been focused on this issue until right now, when I called him out on it,” Paxton said, according to the coverage. Cornyn’s campaign countered that Paxton had misrepresented the issue, with a senior adviser, Matt Mackowiak, saying that “Ken Paxton has lied to his staff, to taxpayers, to his colleagues and to his own family, so it should be not a surprise he’s lying here too.”

Others at CPAC praised the way Paxton has played the nomination fight. Joe Ropar, a 72-year-old defense contractor who attended, described Paxton’s maneuvering as “brilliant,” and said, “Cornyn’s trying to change his stripes now,” adding, “It’s too little too late.”

Speakers at CPAC also framed Paxton as part of the MAGA movement’s grassroots. Steve Bannon, a former Trump adviser who hosts the “War Room” podcast, said Paxton is “emblematic of the grassroots of the MAGA movement across the nation,” referring to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan. Earlier Friday, CPAC senior fellow Mercedes Schlapp polled the crowd, and the coverage said that when she asked for support for Paxton there was a roar of cheers, while questions about Cornyn drew a ripple of boos.

Paxton also drew comparisons between his political path and Trump’s, describing both men as having been targets of political persecution. While the story said Paxton was impeached and acquitted once, Trump went through impeachment processes twice during his first term, and the event coverage described those themes as part of the message delivered to conservatives at CPAC.

The story further said that some conservative Republicans have additional grievances against Cornyn, including references to his earlier criticism of Trump’s proposal for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border in 2016. The coverage also pointed to Cornyn’s co-sponsorship of gun control legislation after a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022, and to comments Cornyn made dismissing Trump’s comeback campaign in 2024.

Not all CPAC attendees viewed the runoff matchup the same way. Retired music teacher Valerie Burge, 58, said she had voted for Cornyn in the primary because of his long service, but said she was uncertain about the runoff, telling the coverage: “But I’m not sure about the runoff,” then adding, “It might be time for something new.”

Barbara Palmer, a 65-year-old lawyer, said Cornyn had been in office too long, pointing to his experience as a judge, a state supreme court justice, and Texas attorney general before seeking a fifth Senate term. “It’s just time for a change,” Palmer said.