John Cornyn says he feels optimistic in the final hours of the runoff primary

Added: 2026-05-27

[00:00:00]Senator, it's good to see you here today. Today is the day. Give us an idea of of how you're feeling.

[00:00:06]>> Well, I'm feeling optimistic. Uh the early voting looks uh solid in places.

[00:00:10]We did well on March the 1st, and as you know, we came in first out of the threeman race then, and it's all I know it sounds sort of simplistic to say, but as you know, it all depends on who who shows up. And uh we had about 11% of registered voters on March the 3rd. And uh we're going to have less than that, but uh we're doing everything we know how to encourage people to get out and and uh do their civic duty. And uh I'm uh I'm I'm hopeful and optimistic.

[00:00:41]>> You sound hopeful and optimistic here, but but give us an honest assessment where you think things might uh fall tonight because everyone saw the news last week with the president making an endorsement in the race. Where will things end up tonight? Well, the president's endorsement came, of course, late in the week after about much of the early voting had already occurred. And, you know, I think this is more a sign of his frustration with the Senate generally and his inability to get things done that he wants done on the timetable he wants rather than with me.

[00:01:12]Because, as you've know and as you've seen from my advertising, I I'm a Trump supporter. I want him to be successful.

[00:01:18]I want America to be successful. And uh so it's not like a situation in in Kentucky or in uh in uh in Louisiana. So he called me a you know a good man and a friend. So uh it's it's not because I've been opposing the president.

[00:01:38]>> You mentioned and we've been watching this early vote turnout. The early vote turnout was strong in areas that you carried back on March 3rd. What kind of turnout and in what parts of the state are you going to be watching tonight?

[00:01:51]What what's the threshold you have to get across?

[00:01:54]>> Well, we you know, we typically do well in some of the larger counties and of course the smaller counties uh particularly in East Texas. Uh uh that's was a challenge for us in the in the primary and a stronghold for uh for Paxton. Again, you know, there was a lot more for people to vote on on March 3rd than there is now. Uh we've got the AG race, the railroad commission race, and the Senate race. And uh it just remains to be seen u who who votes, but we've, you know, we've uh done everything we can to make the point that you know, you why in the world would you delegate your void your vote and your voice to the small fraction of the people who actually uh show up? And so just encouraging more people to participate in the process where I am encouraged by the fact that out of the 75% or so of registered voters who didn't vote in the primary, it looks like we're getting a pretty good bump out of those people showing up in the runoff, which of course they're entitled to do. So uh every vote counts.

[00:02:57]>> Yeah.

[00:02:58]But but as far as specific thresholds, I mean you've done well in the metro areas. um over the you know for early voting, but is there a threshold that you're watching that you got to get across that you'd feel comfortable about tonight, you know, at 7:05 once the early vote is released?

[00:03:15]>> Yeah, I won't I won't feel comfortable, Jason, until u until the race is called.

[00:03:20]Uh so we we're continuing to work all day today and and continue the message to encourage people to to turn out to vote because that's the only at this point that's just about the only thing that matters. Senator, you spent tens of millions of dollars talking about Ken Paxton's past, the impeachment, his divorce, etc. We've all seen the ads, but the race is still so very competitive here. Why do you think that is?

[00:03:46]>> Well, you know, I think Ken Paxton, it feels like all of the scandals that he's been associated with all the years don't really matter to the voters in Texas.

[00:03:56]And in other words, he's saying that character does not matter. I'm I'm betting it does matter and I can guarantee that were he the nominee against Taler Rico who raised $27 million in just the first quarter of this year there there will be a veritable tsunami of out ofstate money coming into this race and he'll be litigating the case were he the nominee before a whole different electorate a lot of independents of course and Democrats who will get to participate in the process and who may not have been paying all that much attention to the Republican primary and I think he'll be spending a lot of his time trying to defend himself against those obvious predictable attacks and he won't have as much time and resources to to take Rico to task for his uh his record which is totally out of step with Texas voters >> still I mean you spent tens of millions of dollars on these ads these powerful ads uh talking about your opponent But they haven't necessarily seemed to stuck with everybody.

[00:05:04]>> Well, I mean, part of the reason we spent as much money as we've had to is because Wesley Hunt, who got 18% of the vote in the primary, um required us to do that. And uh we wouldn't have had to spend nearly as much if it had just been me and Paxton. And then and I think if it had just been me and the attorney general, I would have won without a runoff in on March the 3. Uh but now this has uh extended the the election into the runoff and we are doing what we need to do uh in order to make the case and uh I'm I'm all about winning. Uh I just want to make sure that Republicans statewide continue to win and that when I win I can continue to help the president with his agenda because Democrats are chomping at the bit.

[00:05:48]>> You mentioned a moment ago, but if you can hit on it again here too. Well, let me ask it like this.

[00:05:54]Did any part of you feel like the president's endorsement of your opponent was a betrayal to you? You talk about voting with him 99% of the time. I mean, was that a betrayal at all to you?

[00:06:04]>> Yeah, I don't think it was about I honestly don't think it was about me. Uh not I didn't vote to convict him in his impeachment rally like Senator Cassidy did. I didn't oppose him across the board like Thomas Massie in Kentucky. So I think it was really because he was frustrated with his inability to get some things done in the Senate on the timetable that he wanted and uh so I understand that and uh but we are uh you know we're pretty independent here in Texas and u only Texans get to vote and so that's what I'm depending on is the people who know me and who trust me. I think people who know Ken Paxton know that you can't trust Ken Paxton. Um, and uh, so that I think that is ultimately going to be the uh, the difference.

[00:06:52]>> Senator, a couple last questions here just for clarity because I've seen you answer this question in the past, but I don't quite understand the answer. If Ken Past if Ken Paxton succeeds tonight, will you endorse him in November?

[00:07:06]>> I've said I'll support the ticket. And uh, >> what does that mean?

[00:07:10]>> Well, it means I've worked for decades uh, to elect Republicans to make Texas a solid red state. And I think Paxton's nomination puts all that at risk. But um you know uh elections are are are tough, but their family fights these primaries and then we will come together to oppose the Democrats because the last thing in the world I want is for somebody like a James Tarico to win and uh for President Trump to lose the majority in the in the House and potentially even in the Senate.

[00:07:42]And you mentioned the uh the issues w with the president kind of uh upset at the Senate right now.

[00:07:49]We've all seen the headlines, the president wanting to spend uh millions of dollars on the ballroom on the uh reflecting pool there at a time of massive deficits and inflation. Are these the right priorities?

[00:08:04]>> Well, the I think you know security is certainly an an important issue and I think the president's made the case that you know after he's been there's been what three or four assassination attempts on the president. Um and uh that we need a more secure facility rather than the Hilton Hotel in downtown Washington DC. Um so I certainly support that. Uh but there are other issues that u you know that need needed more discussion apparently in order to get the majority or 51 senators to support uh the entire package. I think they made a mistake in in talking about the ballroom when they should have been talking about the security uh measures that the Secret Service needed.

[00:08:48]Obviously, the president said the ballroom is going to be financed through individual uh donations, not tax dollars. And u but the but the security measures are significant and important and that discussion obviously continues until we end up voting to see if we can get the 51 we need on board. And Senator, we we've seen uh a number of your colleagues speak out on the $ 1.776 billion fund for people that the president says were uh victims of DOJ weaponization under President Biden. Is this something you'd support?

[00:09:21]Well, I certainly believe people who've been uh unfairly u oppressed and sued and harassed by the federal government getting compensation, but I think that's better done on a case-byase basis rather than a in a fund that we don't yet know how that fund would be administered or what the standards would be. Uh but uh I certainly believe that people who've been unfairly harassed by the federal government um should get recourse again.

[00:09:50]But I think that's better done on a case-byase basis.

[00:09:53]>> And then Senator, final question here.

[00:09:56]You have a a heck of a resume in in Texas politics here. Final pitch to voters today.

[00:10:03]>> Yeah, of course. I've had the honor of representing Texas in a lot of different capacities in the in the as in the judiciary, as attorney general, and now in the US Senate. I love my job and I love our state and I believe it's what we've accomplished here is the envy of the nation. Uh as Phil Graham liked to say, the greatest state and the greatest nation the world has ever known. But that's at risk in this election. And I want to make sure that I'm there contributing my part as long as I can to the success of our state and our country and supporting the president during the remainder of his term.

[00:10:41]Senator, good luck to you.

[00:10:45]Thanks, Jason.