Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has opened a sizable early advantage over four-term U.S. Senator John Cornyn in the run-up to next year’s Republican primary, according to a late-June survey that put Paxton more than 20 percentage points ahead of the incumbent. The result underscores a shift within the Texas GOP electorate toward candidates closely aligned with former President Donald Trump and signals the steepest reelection challenge Cornyn has faced in his 22-year Senate career. Cornyn is responding by publicly highlighting his pro-Trump record and staffing his campaign with veterans of the former president’s political team, The Texas Tribune reported this week. At the same time, a Cornyn-aligned super PAC disclosed raising nearly $11 million, giving the senator a financial boost as he seeks to narrow Paxton’s polling lead. Paxton, who announced his candidacy last month, is campaigning as an unapologetic Trump ally and culture-war combatant. His supporters dismiss the attorney general’s past securities-fraud indictment and 2023 state-house impeachment—charges Paxton ultimately beat—as proof of his willingness to fight the political establishment. With the primary still eight months away, both campaigns expect national conservative groups and outside money to pour into the contest, setting up what is likely to become one of 2026’s most expensive and closely watched Senate races.