How the quorum break became a proxy war for the GOP US Senate primary
AUSTIN (Nexstar) — It’s a fight for who can hit Democrats the hardest.
Since Democrats broke quorum last week to stop the redrawing of congressional maps to benefit Republicans, GOP elected officials have made their own attempts to bring them home and punish them for their absence. And as the Republican primary for the Texas U.S. Senate race heats up between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton, the quorum break appears to be a proxy war.
Cornyn finds himself in trouble entering the primary, with every poll showing him behind Paxton, in some cases by 20 points or more. This is despite the fact that Cornyn is the senior senator from the state, having served in this seat since 2003 and winning his elections handily each time.
Now, Paxton has used his authority as attorney general to go after House Democrats. He filed lawsuits to remove several Democrats from office, to prevent Beto O’Rourke’s political action committee from paying Democrats’ fines for quorum breaking and to make civil arrest warrants valid in states like California.
The process has not exactly been cohesive for the Texas GOP. Paxton’s lawsuits came after attempts by Gov. Greg Abbott to do the same, and Paxton even seemed to correct the governor by arguing only the attorney general has the authority to take those actions. The dispute, while not ultimately consequential, drew Cornyn to go on the attack.
Cornyn filed an amicus letter with the Texas Supreme Court in support of Abbott’s petition, arguing that the governor does indeed have the authority. One entire paragraph of the five paragraph letter is spent critiquing how Paxton went about filing.
“Governor Abbott filed this petition … after the Texas Attorney General delayed taking action to remove the absconding legislators. Initially, the Texas Attorney General filed a pleading in this Court seeking to undercut efforts to bring legislators back,” Cornyn wrote. “The Attorney General again invites delay by suggesting this Court should give Democrats more time.”
Replying to Abbott’s X post about the lawsuit he filed, Cornyn wrote Aug. 5, “Guess the Attorney General was too busy doing who knows what overseas so the Governor had to use his own lawyers.” He also later posted the release from Paxton’s office contesting Abbott’s authority, seeming to question Paxton’s commitment to stopping Democrats.
“Get off the golf course in Scotland and do your job,” he wrote that same day.
This would not be the last time Cornyn commented on Paxton’s location. His campaign account released a “missing” poster of Paxton, in the same style of those released by Abbott’s team of the Democrats.
Cornyn sarcastically welcomed the attorney general home from Scotland Thursday, accusing him of “neglecting” his duties. But he corrected himself the next day, saying Paxton decided to remain in Scotland and “ignore his job.”
The senator also took steps to get involved himself, requesting the FBI’s assistance in locating Democrats. He shared that the FBI had granted his request, and then criticized Paxton on X for questioning why the FBI should be involved in state business.
In total, Cornyn has posted or reposted a total of 16 X posts criticizing or commenting on Paxton’s actions since the quorum break began. This excludes a number of other posts where he praised Abbott or the FBI for their actions. Paxton posted or reposted 19 posts about Cornyn, though most of the posts were more general attacks on Cornyn and not specifically related to his actions during the quorum break.
Paxton took a shot back at Cornyn for going on the attack, pointing out a poll showing Paxton leading Cornyn by 13 points. “I think I know why John Cornyn is obsessively posting about me,” he wrote.
Paxton jumped into the Senate primary because he said Cornyn is not sufficiently aligned with President Donald Trump. In the months since the campaign began, Cornyn has gone to clear lengths to show he is close to the president. His bio on X says he has a 99% voting record with Trump, and the pinned post to his account is a photo of he and the president during the 2024 campaign.
Cornyn has also hit back against Paxton, calling him out for his numerous scandals. Paxton was impeached by the Texas House in 2023, including by a majority of Republicans, for allegations that he abused his office. He also admitted to having an affair with his wife, State Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, who announced she had filed for divorce in July. Paxton has been under federal investigation in the past as well.
But so far, voters overall see both Cornyn and Paxton unfavorably. A Texas Politics Project Poll from June found that 29% of voters have a favorable view of Paxton, and just 23% have a favorable view of Cornyn. Only 11% and 7% have a “very favorable” view of Paxton and Cornyn, respectively.
Democrats see a Paxton victory in the primary as their best shot to flip the Senate seat in Texas, given his scandals. Cornyn has cited these Democratic hopes as a reason primary voters should return him for another term. So far however, Cornyn’s attacks on Paxton do not seem to have made a difference in the polling of the race, which consistently show the attorney general with a double digit lead.
So while the Republican response to the quorum break appears to come from a desire for new congressional maps and to pass other special session legislation, the role of the U.S. Senate race can not be ignored. Even months out from the March 3, 2026 primary, Texas politicians have the election at top of mind, making House Democrats the punching bag in a fight to win over voters.
