Leaked audio has emerged in which Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton recounts an anecdote showing how outgoing Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) wants to sabotage his campaign.
Ever since Paxton soundly defeated Cornyn in the primary election in May, the senator has been on the warpath against his former opponent and has done everything short of endorsing Democrat James Talarico.
In the audio recording, Paxton can be heard discussing how Cornyn is trying to wreck his campaign so that the Republican Party learns its lesson.
“He's clearly not helping,” Paxton said. “He wants me to lose.”
Another participant noted that Paxton “has called and reached out to Cornyn” and “called him twice, and then texted him numerous times trying to get together.”
Then Paxton told a story about a friend’s interaction with Cornyn after the primary race.
A friend of mine was at Cafe Pacifica restaurant in Dallas, and he ended up at the table next to Cornyn. And so he told the waiter, ‘I want to buy his dinner.’ And the waiter came back and said, ‘Somebody already did it.’ … So my friend bought dessert. Cornyn called him over to shake his hand. They were like, he got kind of in his face almost and said, ‘Thanks for the dessert.’ My friend said, ‘Well, you know, I just want to thank you for your service, for all your years of service to Texas.’ He goes, ‘I realize it's hard to lose an election, but it shows a lot of character that you're supporting the ticket and you're supporting Ken Paxton.’
And Cornyn's face went red. He backed off and said, Paxton is going to lose. We need to teach those Republicans a lesson. It's going to be hard to learn, but they need to, they need to know that their decisions have consequences. And we need to make sure they understand that. That's what he's trying to do.
Scoop: Ken Paxton privately complained John Cornyn “wants me to lose,” as their years-long feud boils over in a high-stakes Senate race The latest leak from a Paxton fundraiser last month: https://t.co/Yy982qrlJ4 #TXSEN https://t.co/6vxJEEmo7W
— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) October 9, 2026
Of course, there’s no way to confirm Paxton’s friend’s story — but it certainly tracks with how Cornyn has behaved since he lost the primary election. He has been one of Paxton’s most vocal critics during the campaign.
The reality is that Cornyn deserved to lose. He’s a relic of the establishment wing of the GOP and is responsible for one of the most ridiculous gun control laws in existence: The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
The law represents one of the most egregious examples of some Republican lawmakers caving to the anti-gunner left after the shooting at Uvalde High School. One of the law’s victims was Greg Berry, a firearms enthusiast whom the ATF targeted for selling guns as a hobby. Without that legislation, his activities couldn’t have been considered a crime — yet now he’s serving time in prison even though he did not harm a single person.
It’s not clear whether Cornyn’s sour grapes will impact Paxton’s race. But his behavior after the primary clearly demonstrates why his loss was well-deserved.