John Cornyn to 'support Republican ticket' despite decision to skip GOP Midterm Convention

By Ian M. Giatti, Christian Post Reporter Wednesday, September 09, 2026

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is expected to support his former opponent, Attorney General Ken Paxton, despite his decision to skip this week’s Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas.

A spokeswoman confirmed with The Christian Post on Tuesday that the 74-year-old Cornyn will not be in attendance at the GOP event at American Airlines Center, where President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Gov. Greg Abbott will be among an extensive slate of speakers.

The event, dubbed a "Trumpapalooza" by RNC Chairman Joe Gruters, is expected to draw roughly 20,000 attendees and cost the city of Dallas more than $2 million in public-safety and logistical expenses, according to ABC News. 

Cornyn is far from the only prominent Republican skipping the gathering. First lady Melania Trump is also not expected to attend, and Newsweek reports dozens of Republican lawmakers and candidates in competitive races are staying in their respective states to campaign, including Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama.

Cornyn lost to Paxton in a runoff vote in May after Trump threw his support behind the Texas attorney general near the end of the campaign. Paxton will face Democratic state Rep. James Talarico in the November general election. 

An August University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll found Talarico leading Paxton 42% to 39%, with 14% of voters undecided. The poll of 1,200 registered voters carried a weighted margin of error of 3.58 percentage points.

In his concession speech, Cornyn reflected on the words of former President Teddy Roosevelt, shared memories of time spent with fellow Texans, and listed congressional achievements during his time in the Senate. After quipping that "God laughs when we make plans," Cornyn referenced 2 Timothy 4:7, saying he will continue his work over the next seven months to help "make this nation a better place for all Texans and all Americans."

Despite speculation that he might abstain from endorsing his former opponent, a Cornyn spokeswoman told CP that Cornyn “has said repeatedly he will support the Republican ticket.” 

The campaign pointed to multiple statements from Cornyn indicating he would back the GOP ticket, even if he stopped short of endorsing Paxton by name.

As recently as June, Cornyn told reporters he would support “the Republican ticket” even after he reaffirmed his view that Paxton is “unfit” for the Senate seat. Cornyn has also more recently taken aim at Paxton's abilities as a candidate, calling him a poor campaigner who is "lazy and doesn't raise money," according to The Dallas Morning News.

The longtime GOP senator is not exactly a Talarico fan either: he denounced a Texas pastor and longtime spiritual mentor to Talarico after the pastor told his congregation that there are “mixed feelings” about the recent assassination attempt on President Donald Trump, while stressing that violence is never the answer. 

The Rev. Jim Rigby, pastor of the PCUSA-affiliated St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Austin, made the comment during an April 26 sermon in which he encouraged his congregants to be “healing agents of the world,” yet likened the Bible Belt of the southern U.S. to a fascist movement.

“You may know, if you check the news at all, there was an assassination attempt,” Rigby told the congregation. “And I know a lot of people have mixed feelings. But it’s really, really important if you’re going to be the healing agents of the world to realize that violence is not going to get rid of the problem that we have,” Rigby said.

Prior to his May runoff with Paxton, Cornyn criticized Rigby’s remarks and linked them directly to Talarico’s campaign.

“James Talarico claims to be campaigning on love and kindness, but his Pastor made light of an assassination attempt on the President of the United States in Washington, D.C., this weekend where a Secret Service officer was seriously injured. All Texans should be outraged and Talarico must condemn it,” Cornyn wrote in an April 27 post on X.