John Cornyn Running on Trump Coattails
in New Ad with No Hint of Paxton Threat Capitol Inside
March 26, 2025
U.S. Senator John Cornyn may have sounded more like a candidate for vice-president on Wednesday when he made a bid for a fifth term in his current job official in a social media video that hitched his star to President Donald Trump and ignored the threat of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as a potential GOP primary foe.
The advertisement that the veteran politico posted on X opens with a narrator's claim that the senior Texas senator had Trump's back during his first White House term when the male voice says the U.S. economy flourished in record fashion. Cornyn takes over at that point in the digital ad that gives him credit for paving the way for Trump accomplishments including U.S. Supreme Court nominee confirmations as the U.S. Senate whip at the time.
"Now I'm running for re-election and asking for your support so President Trump and I can pick up where we left off," Cornyn says.
"President Trump needs a partner who's battle tested to restore law and order, cut taxes and spending and take back our jobs and supply chain," Cornyn contends. "The radical left thinks they can flip Texas blue, stop President Trump and reverse the America first agenda. But Texas has a message for them - come and take it."
The video features a black-and-white frame that shows Democratic U.S. Rep. Al Green of Houston shouting and shaking a cane at Trump during a recent speech to Congress. The Cornyn ad that spans nearly two minutes takes shots at Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Texas Democrats in general without a word or a hint on the possibility that the incumbent U.S. senator may not be around to carry the White House water two years from now if Paxton runs for the federal post in 2026.
Paxton said last week that he's still testing the waters for a U.S. Senate campaign. But the attorney general indicated that he believes he would win if he challenges the longtime incumbent on the primary ballot a year from now. Paxton and Trump have appeared to be closer on a personal level since the Texas AG sought to overturn the 2020 election at the U.S. Supreme Court on his behalf. Paxton based the effort on Trump's false claims about Democrats stealing the presidency at the polls that year.
Paxton's deliberate approach on a potential Cornyn challenge has given the incumbent an opportunity to round up and lock in support from potential contributors for the primary election before the AG has a chance to do the same for a federal fight with limits on donations that candidates don't face at the state level here.
While the 22-year Senate veteran would have significant advantages that come with incumbency, Cornyn hasn't been as popular among Republicans voters in Texas compared to the GOP's other high-ranking officials here based on polling in recent years. Paxton's stock soared in the wake of his impeachment by the Texas House and subsequent Senate acquittal in 2023.
But the new Cornyn video suggests that Democrats are the only major cause for concern. "We can't go backwards to inflation, crime and DEI," the ad warns.
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