长期在职的得克萨斯州共和党参议员约翰·科宁（John Cornyn）与得克萨斯州总检察长肯·帕克斯顿（Ken Paxton）将继续他们的激烈对决，因为两位候选人在周二的初选中均未超过50%的得票门槛。
这意味着这场已成为历史上最昂贵的初选之一的角逐将持续至5月26日。
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得克萨斯州总检察长肯·帕克斯顿与其劲敌、得克萨斯州共和党参议员约翰·科宁将在得克萨斯州决选中再次对决，他们的初选之争将延长至5月底。（Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images；Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images）
科宁辩称，他是该领域唯一能在孤星之州赢得大选的候选人——他已四次做到这一点——尤其是在对抗冉冉升起的民主党新星、州众议员詹姆斯·塔拉利科（James Talarico）时。塔拉利科在周三凌晨击败了民主党众议员贾丝明·克罗基特（Jasmine Crockett）。
但目前，他的焦点是帕克斯顿。
“就像初选一样，我们有赢得决选的计划，并且正在执行中，”科宁周二晚间表示，“肯·帕克斯顿的‘审判日’即将来临。”
帕克斯顿将自己标榜为这场竞选中真正的‘让美国再次伟大’（MAGA）候选人，称他在其他人退缩时坚定支持唐纳德·特朗普总统，尤其是在2020年大选之后。他在达拉斯对支持者表示，他感觉自己的竞选活动背后拥有与特朗普宣布寻求第二个任期时相同的能量。
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“现在，我感受到了同样的势头，同样的历史正在转向的感觉，”帕克斯顿说，“现在我们来谈谈刚刚发生的事情。约翰·科宁花了约1亿美元试图买下这个席位，而我们只花了约500万美元。”
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“但我们证明了华盛顿那些人永远不会理解的一点——得克萨斯州不是可以买卖的。”他继续说道。
双方都在强调自己的叙事：科宁将自己塑造为一位久经战场考验、适合参与大选的在职议员，而帕克斯顿则将自己描绘成一位与特朗普结盟的保守派，能够为该席位注入新的活力。
科宁得到了参议院共和党竞选机构——全国共和党参议院委员会（NRSC）的支持，随之而来的是巨额竞选资金库。
NRSC传播主任乔安娜·罗德里格斯（Joanna Rodriguez）告诉福克斯新闻数字频道：“约翰·科宁仍然是唯一能确保州众议员塔拉利科永远无法成为美国参议员的候选人，并且确保为特朗普总统的参议院多数席位而战是在真正的战场州，而非得克萨斯州。”
支持参议院共和党人的顶级超级政治行动委员会——参议院领导力基金（SLF）在初选中为科宁投入了数百万美元，并在周三早些时候明确表示将在决选中继续支持这位参议员。
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唐纳德·特朗普总统于2026年3月3日在白宫椭圆形办公室与德国总理弗里德里希·默茨举行双边会议期间接受媒体提问。（Win McNamee/Getty Images）
该组织执行董事亚历克斯·拉奇姆（Alex Latcham）在一份声明中表示：“SLF及其姐妹组织很自豪能早日支持科宁参议员，我们期待他在5月26日获得共和党提名。”
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但在帕克斯顿阵营中，行动人士和捐赠者有信心能够击败这位参议员。
支持帕克斯顿的石油钻井公司首席执行官、知名共和党捐赠人兼筹款人丹·埃伯哈特（Dan Eberhart）告诉福克斯新闻数字频道：“这是科宁试图通过超过50%的得票率击退挑战者的机会，但他做不到。决选选民对科宁来说将是更加不利的阵地。”
埃伯哈特提到长期担任参议院共和党领袖的肯塔基州共和党参议员米奇·麦康奈尔（Mitch McConnell），后者常与特朗普针锋相对，称：“这场竞选是MAGA派与麦康奈尔派之间的较量。”
与此同时，支持帕克斯顿的超级政治行动委员会“孤星自由”（Lone Star Liberty）在周二选举前分发了一份备忘录，对科宁在决选中通过继续抨击总检察长一连串丑闻来取胜的威胁不屑一顾，认为对方没什么新东西可提供。
“科宁在决选中‘发动’新攻击的言论是虚张声势，”备忘录中写道，“事实是，从第一天起，他的团队就已经用尽了所有弹药。没有新的攻击了——只有更多的相同内容，成本越来越高，而回报却越来越少。”
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但这场竞选中最关键的变数可能不是数百万美元的广告支出或竞选演说，而是特朗普决定支持谁。
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到目前为止，他一直置身事外。他上个月暗示，他对科宁、帕克斯顿以及得克萨斯州共和党众议员韦斯利·亨特（Wesley Hunt）都有好感，但亨特在以第三名落后后退出了竞选。
参议院共和党领导层继续认为，特朗普对科宁的支持将能有效锁定胜局，让共和党能够专注于更广泛的参议院战场地图。这种支持在初选之后可能变得更加重要。
一位在特朗普圈子内的共和党政治行动人士告诉福克斯新闻数字频道：“塔拉利科成为提名人，使得特朗普总统对科宁的支持比以往任何时候都更加重要。”
特朗普尚未表态支持任何一方，这可能在未来几周成为影响选情的关键因素。共和党内部有人认为，他的支持将在决选中起到决定性作用，尤其是在考虑到得克萨斯州以外的参议院竞选策略时。
不过，目前科宁和帕克斯顿的对决焦点依然集中在党内力量平衡和潜在的特朗普背书上。这场角逐不仅关乎共和党在得克萨斯州的参议院提名，更可能影响到全国范围内的参议院竞选格局。
DALLAS — The race for the Republican Senate nomination in Texas is heading to a high-stakes runoff, with both sides digging in for a costly, drawn-out fight.
Longtime incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are set to continue their bitter duel after neither candidate cleared the 50% threshold in Tuesday’s primary election.
That means the race, which has become one of the most expensive primary contests in history, will drag on until May 26.
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his bitter rival, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, are heading to a runoff in Texas, further extending their primary battle until late May.(Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Cornyn argues he is the only candidate in the field who can win a general election in the Lone Star State — something he has done four times — especially against rising star state Rep. James Talarico, D-Texas, who toppled Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, early Wednesday morning.
But for now, his focus is on Paxton.
“Just like the primary, we have a plan to win the runoff, and we are in the process of executing it,” Cornyn said Tuesday night. “Judgment day is coming for Ken Paxton.”
Paxton has styled himself as the true MAGA candidate in the race, saying he stood with President Donald Trump when others did not, particularly after the 2020 election. He told supporters in Dallas that he felt the same energy behind his campaign as when Trump announced his re-election bid for a second term.
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“Right now, I feel that same momentum, the same sense that history is turning,” Paxton said. “Now let’s talk about what just happened. John Cornyn spent around $100 million trying to buy this seat. We’ve spent around $5 million.”
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“But we proved something they’ll never understand in Washington — Texas is not for sale,” he continued.
Both sides are leaning into their narratives: Cornyn casting himself as a battle-tested incumbent built for a general election fight, while Paxton presents himself as a Trump-aligned conservative who could breathe fresh life into the seat.
Cornyn has the backing of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, and along with it, a massive war chest of campaign cash.
NRSC Communications Director Joanna Rodriguez told Fox News Digital, “John Cornyn remains the only candidate who guarantees state Rep. Talarico never becomes a United States senator and ensures the fight for President Trump’s Senate majority is waged in true battleground states, not Texas.”
The Senate Leadership Fund (SLF), the top super PAC backing Senate Republicans, which spent millions on behalf of Cornyn in the primary campaign, made it clear in a statement early Wednesday that it will continue to support the senator in the runoff.
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President Donald Trump takes questions from the media during a bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, March 3, 2026.(Win McNamee/Getty Images)
“SLF and its sister organizations were proud to support Senator Cornyn early, and we look forward to him securing the Republican nomination on May 26,” the group’s executive director, Alex Latcham, said in a statement.
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But on the Paxton side of the playing field, operatives and donors are confident they can unseat the senator.
Dan Eberhart, an oil drilling chief executive officer and prominent Republican donor and bundler who supports Paxton, told Fox News Digital that “this was Cornyn’s shot to fend off his challenger by getting over 50%, and he couldn’t do it. The runoff voters will be even less friendly territory for Cornyn.”
Pointing to former longtime Senate GOP leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who has often acted as a Trump foil, Eberhart said, “This race is about MAGA vs. McConnell.”
Meanwhile, Lone Star Liberty, a pro-Paxton super PAC, circulated a memo ahead of Tuesday’s election that shrugged off threats that Cornyn would succeed in the runoff by continuing to hammer the attorney general over his litany of scandals, arguing there was nothing new to offer.
“Cornyn’s talk of ‘unleashing’ new attacks in the runoff is bluster,” the memo states. “The truth is that from day one, his forces fired every bullet they had. There are no new attacks left — only more of the same, at ever-greater cost and with ever-diminishing returns.”
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But the most consequential variable in the race may not be millions of dollars in advertising spending or stump speeches. It may be whoever Trump decides to endorse.
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So far, he has stayed out of the race. He signaled last month that he liked both Cornyn and Paxton, along with Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, who dropped out of the contest after trailing in third place.
Senate Republican leadership continues to believe that a Trump endorsement of Cornyn would effectively put the race to bed and allow the party to focus on the broader Senate battleground map. That endorsement could prove even more important beyond the primary battle.
A GOP political operative in Trump’s orbit told Fox News Digital that “Talarico being the nominee makes President Trump’s endorsement of Cornyn more important than ever.”