Incumbent Sen. John Cornyn says Paxton has his own baggage to defend against Talarico

Added: 2026-05-26

[00:00:01]Senator John Cornyn, thank you so much.

[00:00:02]Welcome back to Time on Politics.

[00:00:04]>> to be with you. So, you said it. Far fewer people go out to the polls in these primary runoffs. So, how confident are you that your closing argument to Republicans here is going to motivate them to get out to the polls and vote and to persuade undecideds?

[00:00:22]Well, because we're not just relying on our arguments. We're relying on our friends and supporters. Uh all the various organizations that have endorsed me from the Farm Bureau uh to the US Chamber of Commerce Commerce and everybody in between. And asked them to do more than what they typically do, which is to make an endorsement, but then they don't necessarily um aren't necessarily that aggressive about encouraging their members to vote. We've also been reaching out to the major employers in the state and saying, "I'm not asking you to put your finger on the scales. You can't do that. But what you can do, if you would, would be uh let your um let your employees know that there will be an election and uh that they can vote early uh and vote on May the 26th if they don't vote early." And we've got a great reception. I What I've explained to them is with such a small percentage of voters turning out in the Republican primary and the Democratic primary, what that does is it leaves a vast number of uh Texans out of the picture in terms of electing their representative. And so, if they want to have keep Texas the envy of the nation, a pro-business state, uh one that reflects our values, then they can help do that by encouraging their employees to turn out and vote.

[00:01:39]Electability, you say, is a very important issue in November.

[00:01:45]And I'm wondering, do you think, given the fact that you are in a fight of your political career here against Ken Paxton, that that's going to resonate with GOP primary voters?

[00:01:57]Well, we uh I mean I I think we've gotten a good reception.

[00:02:02]Um but as I said, it's not just about me.

[00:02:06]Uh it's about the future of our state, the future of the Republican Party, the future of President Trump's agenda. Um and whether we're going to basically throw away a safe Senate seat by nominating someone who could well lose that election. And even if they don't, dissipate the money that could otherwise go to help pick up Senate seats in other parts of the country. So, I think electability is an important issue.

[00:02:31]Um but I and I think I've demonstrated that I would be a better candidate to help with down-ballot races than certainly the attorney general would be.

[00:02:40]And that is part of our part of our pitch. But again, none of this happens by accident. It only happens when people turn out to vote, which is the only thing that really counts at this point.

[00:02:52]You've never lost an election in your 42-year career.

[00:02:55]And now, you may.

[00:02:58]This could be it for you.

[00:03:00]Do you Do you think of that?

[00:03:03]Yeah, I think of that. I think I've What a wonderful experience I've had and that what an honor it's been to serve in so many different capacities. But it also leaves me with a sense of responsibility.

[00:03:13]I can't in good conscience turn this Senate seat, this red Senate seat in Texas, over to someone who could likely just let it slip through their fingers to the detriment of Republicans in Texas, to the detriment of the Republican Party nationally, and to the detriment of President Trump's agenda.

[00:03:32]I have feel a sense of responsibility as a result of my long service, and that's largely what motivates me to run.

[00:03:41]If you win on May 26th, how are you going to beat Democrat James Talarico?

[00:03:46]I think James Talarico will essentially beat himself. He is so out of step with with Texas and you know he tries to come across he's sort of a mild-mannered non-threatening individual but he's basically a Bernie Sanders type with the same sort of policies. And that is completely out of sync with where I believe Texans are. So he's already given a lot of very strange statements that I think it going to cause a lot of people to hesitate in voting for him in in November but he will be a formidable opponent because of his ability to raise so much money. Raised $27 million as you know in the first quarter of this year and there'll be national money pouring into Texas especially if Paxton were the nominee and but even if I'm the nominee we'll be outspent. But I think I think he is he is completely out of step with where Texans are but the problem is Paxton can't make the case because he's got so much of his own baggage and I think I can go on offense and help not only my own race but also help down ballot. Last question and that is what do you want to do if you're elected reelected? What bills what is on your agenda? Well I want to help President Trump the last two years of his agenda.

[00:05:10]You know politics is really a team sport. I've worked hand in glove with the president during both of his terms whether it's electing excuse me nominating or confirming conservative judges including the Supreme Court to lower taxes the working family tax cuts.

[00:05:26]I think there's so much more that we we can do together. I I worry about things like our national debt and that President Trump is the kind of person that if he were to focus on this in the remaining two years of his presidency he's the kind of president I think would have the courage to help us do what everybody knows we need to do and that is to right-size and potentially balance the federal budget. We spend more money on interest on the national debt than we are on defense and we know this is a more dangerous world and so that is an unsustainable and dangerous proposition.

[00:06:02]That's an example of the kinds of things I'd like to help help fix in another term.

[00:06:08]Senator John Cornyn, thank you so much.

[00:06:10]Thank you, Jack.