Ken Paxton didn’t mince words on The Chris Salcedo Show when he told Washington Republicans to stop messing with Texas and quit trying to parachute their preferred candidates into our state. Paxton framed his primary challenge to Sen. John Cornyn as a direct fight against the D.C. establishment that thinks it knows better than Texans what’s best for Texas.
Make no mistake: Cornyn has been collecting establishment endorsements like souvenirs, as a phalanx of former Republican lawmakers rush to anoint him in a primary that should be decided by Texans at the ballot box. The people of Texas don’t need a roll call of retired Beltway lifers telling them who to pick — they need a senator who will stand up to the swamp.
Paxton has built his brand by taking on the Biden administration and filing suit when Washington overreaches, boasting — accurately — that he has sued the federal government more than a hundred times to defend Texas. That record is exactly the kind of muscle conservatives wanted in an attorney general and should expect from anyone running to represent our state in the U.S. Senate.
Even President Trump has wisely signaled caution, saying he likes both men but will make a decision later, which underlines how important it is that Washington not rush to coronate a candidate before Texans have their say. The last thing grassroots conservatives need is another D.C. intervention that hands a corrupt status quo a second chance.
Meanwhile, the Cornyn camp leans on old-guard endorsements while painting Paxton as a perpetual outsider — a tired Beltway playbook that should not work in a state that rewarded boldness and results at the ballot box. If Republicans are serious about winning and advancing conservative policies, they should back fighters, not backroom favorites who prefer cover-ups and compromise in the halls of Congress.
Yes, Paxton has had his legal battles and critics will never miss a chance to pummel a conservative who actually challenges the system, including a costly whistleblower judgment and years of attacks from partisan foes in and out of government. But it was also reported that federal prosecutors declined to bring charges in a probe that shadowed him for years — another reminder that Washington’s appetite for witch hunts must not determine who Texans elect.
Washington Republicans need to learn the lesson Texans already know: stop meddling, stop assuming, and respect the people. If national leaders want to help, they should empower voters by defending free and fair primaries — not by leaning on the scales for the establishment’s pick. Let Texas decide its own destiny, and if patriotism and principle mean anything, stand with the conservative fighter who actually took on the Biden machine.
