MAGA-aligned Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is campaigning against GOP incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, a former Texas Attorney General who began representing the Lone Star state in the U.S. Senate in 2002. (Note: President Trump has not announced his endorsement of either candidate — Trump endorsed Paxton’s 2022 campaign for AG and Cornyn during his 2020 re-election campaign.)
This week, Turning Point USA, the non-profit organization co-founded by the late right-wing Christian political influencer Charlie Kirk, announced its endorsement of Paxton.
Former U.S. Representative Barbara Comstock (R-VA) responded to the Turning Point endorsement on social media with sarcasm. She wrote: “Cheating on your wife and being impeached is apparently a plus for an endorsement from @TPUSA. Don’t let them tell you they care about character with their endorsement of this charlatan who had conservative lawyers in his office quit and testify against him in his impeachment.”
Cheating on your wife and being impeached is apparently a plus for an endorsement from @TPUSA. Don’t let them tell you they care about character with their endorsement of this charlatan who had conservative lawyers in his office quit and testify against him in his impeachment. https://t.co/7ZxVlR2X8U
— Barbara Comstock (@BarbaraComstock) February 9, 2026
Note: In October 2020, several assistants in Paxton’s office accused him of “bribery, abuse of office and other crimes.” In May 2023, Paxton was impeached by the Texas House of Representatives by a vote of 121–23. In September 2023, the Texas Senate voted 16–14 to acquit Paxton of all articles of impeachment, ending his suspension from office.
In July 2025, Paxton’s wife of 38 years, State Senator Angela Paxton (R-TX), filed for divorce. In a statement, she said she moved to end the marriage “on biblical grounds,” citing “recent discoveries.”
Several MAGA supporters replied to Comstock’s criticism by defending Paxton, with one replying: “And let those without sin cast the first stone.” Others compared Paxton to President Trump, portraying both men as outsiders taking on the establishment. As one wrote: “The same machine that tried to take @KenPaxtonTX out tried to take @realDonaldTrump out, Thats [sic] why we FULLY support Ken Paxton, and thats [sic] why he will win.”
In an interview with The New York Times in 2025, Cornyn called the allegations of corruption that led to Paxton’s impeachment “just the tip of the iceberg,” saying Paxton thinks “he can get away with a whole litany of misbehavior and corruption that should disqualify him from the job.”
Paxton, who the Texas Tribune reports is leading the primary race, has attacked Cornyn on many fronts while emphasizing an assertion that Cornyn’s candidacy makes Texas vulnerable to a potential Democratic flip.
Hey @JohnCornyn, you perform the worst out of any Republican in a general election.
Your entire justification for running for a fifth term and stealing tens of millions from other Senate races is based on a lie. https://t.co/3GV00URwZJ
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) February 9, 2026