John Cornyn and his newly announced challenger, Attorney General Ken Paxton, are trashing each other's records. Analysts have said the candidates must raise a lot of money to get their message out in this large state.

Both candidates for the March 2026 primary come out swinging as the early jockeying for one of the top political prizes in Texas gets under way.

A supercharged U.S. Senate GOP primary in Texas between Sen. John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton is kicking off with personal attacks and expectations of a high-spending race in a year when Senate Republicans will be defending key seats and targeting others in 2026.