With Election Day for the GOP Senate runoff set for Tuesday, voters across Texas are being met by relentless advertising—over $109 million so far—while Sen. John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton keep their final day mostly off the air. The contrast
For the final day before Tuesday’s GOP Senate runoff, voters in Texas were left with a familiar experience: watching and hearing the race, but not seeing much of it in person.
Sen. John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton had no public campaign events scheduled for Monday—provided voters stayed in front of screens. Their more-than-yearlong fight for the GOP nomination continued at full volume through advertising that has topped $109 million. heavily fueled by Cornyn’s side.
Cornyn’s last campaign visibility came without the usual campaign posture. On Monday in San Antonio. he hosted an annual. non-campaign event recognizing high school graduates attending the nation’s service academies. Paxton’s final push before voting looked different: he headlined last events Thursday in the Austin area and in San Antonio.
Cornyn, meanwhile, held his last public campaign event on Friday in Corpus Christi, ahead of Tuesday’s voting.
The quiet on Monday didn’t mean the political temperature cooled. The runoff has been intensified by President Donald Trump’s involvement, including an endorsement announcement and dismissal of Cornyn that landed during early voting—on the second day of early voting, which ended Friday.
Trump’s public posture toward the two candidates shifted the race from a contest over the GOP Senate nomination to a referendum on loyalty. Trump reaffirmed his support for Paxton on Sunday and disparaged Cornyn as insufficiently loyal to him.
On social media, Paxton posted that Trump “was also very loyal to your favorite President, ME,” while calling Cornyn “VERY disloyal to me.” Trump’s rebuke of Cornyn was described as his strongest response to date; it came after Cornyn had dismissed his 2024 comeback chances.
The president’s past sharper language toward other Republicans is now being echoed inside this runoff. After Trump’s jabs at Cornyn. the same dynamic has helped reshape Republican primaries in places like Indiana and Kentucky. where GOP voters have selected primary challengers over incumbent GOP officeholders who have crossed Trump or opposed his agenda.
In Texas, Cornyn tried to draw his own connection to Trump’s priorities in his closing remarks Monday. After Trump’s latest jabs, Cornyn still leaned into Trump’s support just before his event. He told reporters that 99.3% of his votes aligned with Trump. adding that he “wants him to be successful.” Cornyn then referenced Trump’s earlier comments “where he called me a good man and a friend.”.
When asked about endorsing Paxton, Cornyn said, “obviously the president is entitled to make his pick,” but argued Texans would decide independently: “Texans are a pretty independent breed and people will be making their own choices.”
The money and the message are already saturating the state. A contest expected to draw a fraction of Texas’ 18.7 million voters is being blasted across all Texans through advertising from both campaigns and supporting groups—though more by Cornyn’s backers than Paxton’s.
“It’s just a slug fest, with the campaigns and third-party groups slugging it out,” said Wayne Hamilton, a former executive director of the Texas Republican Party.
Over the past year, the combination of Cornyn’s campaign and supporting super PACs has outspent pro-Paxton groups by almost nine-to-one. That gap has narrowed as the runoff approached: in the final week, pro-Cornyn ad spending was less than twice that of Paxton’s group.
Cornyn’s side has continued to air spots attacking Paxton over ethical and personal questions that have shadowed him throughout much of the campaign. Cornyn’s argument to voters is that Paxton would struggle in the general election and threaten to flip the seat blue.
Before heading into Monday’s ceremony. Cornyn told reporters that “Paxton’s flaws and the baggage he brings to the general election is going to be exploited to the fullest by James Talarico. ” referencing the Texas Democratic Senate nominee. and he delivered a speech to graduates that was devoid of campaign politics.
Cornyn’s campaign also revisited an earlier ad reminding voters of his pattern of voting in the Senate for Trump’s priorities.
Paxton’s campaign and its supporting groups shifted tactics midweek, moving into ads emphasizing Trump’s endorsement. But Paxton’s primary super PAC. Lone Star Liberty Fund. began airing an additional ad over the weekend aimed at raising questions about state Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic nominee.
The runoff has tightened into a direct collision of narratives—Trump’s endorsement and dismissal set against Cornyn’s insistence on alignment and independence. while both sides try to frame the other candidate as either a liability or a threat to Democratic control. All of it is playing out in the airwaves as Texas enters its final stretch before Tuesday’s vote.
Texas GOP Senate runoff John Cornyn Ken Paxton Donald Trump advertising Lone Star Liberty Fund James Talarico Indiana Kentucky early voting