The Gloves Are Off — And Trump Still Isn't Watching

The Texas Senate runoff hits voters on May 26. Fourteen days out, Attorney General Ken Paxton is swinging hard — and Senator John Cornyn is taking hits from multiple directions at once.

The campaign has shifted since a week ago. Paxton has now launched two distinct new attacks, and the race has entered a sharper phase.

Attack One: 'What Has Cornyn Done for You?'

On May 12, Paxton released a statewide TV ad with a simple premise: name one thing Cornyn has accomplished in 42 years. According to the El Paso Times, Paxton has been running this line since April 2025 — but putting it on television statewide is a new escalation.

"For over a year, I've been asking Texans what John Cornyn has done for them, yet no one has an answer to that question," Paxton said in the campaign's news release. "That's pathetic."

The ad leans directly on Trump's own words — specifically, Trump calling Cornyn "weak, ineffective, and very bad for the Republican Party." That's a real quote. Paxton is weaponizing it while Trump refuses to back either candidate.

Paxton is running Trump's words in ads for himself while Trump sits out the race entirely.

Attack Two: 'Caliphate Cornyn'

On May 13, Paxton went further — releasing an ad tying Cornyn to Islamic Relief USA and accusing him of supporting "Muslim mass migration." According to the El Paso Times, the ad uses Cornyn's own words praising his "friends" at Islamic Relief USA and claiming Texans have a "moral obligation" to support Muslim migration.

"It's alarming that Caliphate Cornyn has called radicals who support Islamic terrorism his 'friends,'" Paxton said in a campaign release.

The factual record matters here. Islamic Relief USA did sever ties with its parent organization, Islamic Relief Worldwide, over terrorism concerns — a detail the El Paso Times included and that mainstream coverage on the right is largely skipping. Paxton's ad frames the association as current and active. It is not, based on the organization's own public actions.

That doesn't mean Cornyn's praise of the group was smart politics. Paxton is stretching the facts to make the hit land harder.

What Cornyn Is Actually Doing

Cornyn hasn't been sitting still. According to the Texas Tribune, outside groups aligned with Senate GOP leadership have poured millions of dollars into pro-Cornyn advertising — far more than Paxton's operation has generated on its own. The establishment is funding this race.

Cornyn has been in public office for over 40 years and is running for a fifth Senate term — something no Texas senator has ever done, according to Paxton's own Breitbart interview. That's a real political vulnerability.

Where Both Candidates Actually Stand

The Texas Tribune published a side-by-side issues breakdown. Key takeaways:

• Neither candidate agreed to answer Tribune questionnaires ahead of the March primary. The Tribune filled in answers from voting records and public statements.
• Neither has agreed to debate. With 14 days left, a debate is not happening.
• Both claim to be Trump's real ally. Trump has endorsed neither.

The no-debate, no-questionnaire posture from both campaigns is a disservice to voters. These are two men asking Texas Republicans to send them to Washington for six years, and neither will sit across from the other on camera.

The Trump Card — Still Unplayed

Paxton's entire campaign rationale rests on being the more authentic Trump ally. His new TV ad directly quotes Trump attacking Cornyn. But Trump has publicly refused to endorse in this race.

Most right-leaning coverage treats the Trump silence as neutral background noise. A candidate using the president's words in paid advertising while that same president won't back him is a significant tension.

The General Election Elephant in the Room

Whoever wins May 26 faces state Rep. James Talarico (D-Austin) in November. Cornyn's allies in the Senate GOP establishment have been explicit — per the Texas Tribune — that they believe Paxton is a general election liability given his 11 years of scandal as attorney general.

Paxton dismissed Talarico as too radical for Texas, telling Breitbart he can "crush" him in the fall. Texas hasn't elected a Democrat to statewide office since 1994. But margins have tightened. Democrats are competitive in the suburbs. A scandal-heavy nominee carries real risk — and the establishment money flooding Cornyn's campaign reflects that calculation.

What This Means for Texas Voters

You have 12 days to decide between a 40-year incumbent who has the Senate establishment's full financial backing and a controversial AG who is running almost entirely on the argument that his opponent has accomplished nothing.

Paxton's "Caliphate Cornyn" line is provocative politics that outpaces the actual facts. Cornyn's refusal to engage in a single debate is cowardice dressed up as strategy.

Both men want your vote. Neither has earned it cheaply.