AUSTIN – Texas Republicans risk losing clout if they dump Sen. John Cornyn for a political newcomer in Washington, former Gov. Rick Perry warned Tuesday.
“A rookie can’t get that done,” Perry said, arguing that Cornyn’s seniority helped secure $11 billion for border reimbursements and gives Texas leverage that would disappear with a first-term senator.
Perry joined Cornyn at a Mexican restaurant in Austin to rally supporters on the first day of early voting, underscoring the establishment muscle lining up behind the four-term senator.
Cornyn faces a bitter March 3 primary against Attorney General Ken Paxton, a favorite of many grassroots conservatives and fans of President Donald Trump. U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt of Houston also is running as a Trump-aligned alternative without Paxton’s baggage.
Political Points
Dozens of Cornyn supporters, some proudly displaying their “I voted early” stickers, turned out to shake hands and show support. He was joined by members of the Border Patrol union, including its president, Paul Perez, who vouched for Cornyn’s work on border security.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, with former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, left, speaks during a campaign stop in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Eric Gay / AP
Cornyn said Texas and the country have been thriving under Republican leadership in Washington, with the border secure, crime down, the economy growing and inflation “on the run.”
That progress, he said, would be at risk if Paxton tops the GOP ticket in November.
“We will have an Election Day massacre,” Cornyn said. “Republicans up and down the ticket will pay the price of having an albatross like our corrupt attorney general hung around their necks.”
Political risk
A Paxton nomination would put the Senate seat at risk, help Democrats flip House seats and threaten Trump’s agenda, even raising the prospect of another impeachment fight, Cornyn said.
All three candidates have sought to position themselves close to Trump, making heavy use of photos showing them next to the president.
Cornyn rejected attacks from Paxton and Hunt that he hasn’t been supportive of the conservative movement and Trump.
Cornyn pointed to his work in the Senate confirming Trump’s judicial nominees and getting the president’s tax cuts passed.
Trump hasn’t made a formal pick. On Monday, he called Cornyn a “good man” and said he supports all three Texas Republicans.
Cornyn said he appreciated Trump’s kind words and it’s the president’s call whether to make an endorsement.
“He kind of likes a good fight and he’s going to see one right here in Texas,” Cornyn said.
Perry, who ran the Energy Department in Trump’s first term, said he hadn’t spoken with the president about endorsing Cornyn.
Fox News reported Tuesday that Hunt filed a police report over a Cornyn campaign aide sharing his personal details when he posted copies of Hunt’s 2016 provisional ballot form along with his military discharge paperwork.
The copies were deleted and then reposted with the personal information redacted.
The Cornyn campaign has accused Hunt of voter fraud because the provisional ballot form says he was discharged in 2016 when he was actually discharged in 2012.
Hunt said a clerk added the incorrect information to the provisional ballot form.
None of the Republicans is expected to get a majority of the primary vote, sending the top two finishers into a May runoff.
Ground game
Cornyn said his campaign has built a turnout operation anchored by major endorsing groups, such as the Chamber of Commerce, the Farm Bureau and the Border Patrol union.
Supporters at Tuesday’s event said they appreciated Cornyn’s integrity and raised concerns about Paxton’s impeachment and legal troubles.
“I’m an old George Bush Republican – that barely exists anymore. Senator Cornyn is kind of a remnant of that,” said Bill Records, 79, a retired freelance photographer who said he previously did some work for Cornyn.
Records said he now considers himself an independent living in West Austin among many “latte liberals” and has tried to convince them to cross over and vote for Cornyn in the GOP primary.
“Do you want Paxton?” Records said he tells his left-leaning neighbors. “Because if he gets the nomination, he’s going to win.”