Texas Sen. John Cornyn says he will run for reelection in 2026

Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn on Friday committed to running for reelection to a fifth term in the Senate in 2026, regardless of whether he becomes the next Senate Republican leader later this year.

Cornyn is one of three senators vying for the top Republican position in the Senate, now that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has announced that he will step down as party leader at the end of the year. Sens. John Thune from South Dakota, and Rick Scott from Florida are also running for the seat.

When asked if he was looking to run for reelection in 2026, Cornyn told the Dallas Morning News "yes. I mean God willing." He also called for party unity ahead of the 2024 elections this November. Republicans are hoping to flip the Senate, which would put Cornyn as Senate Majority Leader if he wins the position.

“What we got here in Texas is too important to squander by fighting the fights of the past as opposed to looking forward to winning in November,” Cornyn said.

Although Cornyn is a four-time incumbent, he could face serious difficulties from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who recently clashed with Cornyn after the senator criticized Paxton over allegations of corruption that led to Paxton’s impeachment and subsequent acquittal in the Texas Senate.

When the senator announced that he would be running to replace McConnell as party leader in the Senate, Paxton lashed out at Cornyn.

“Republicans deserve better in their next leader and Texans deserve another conservative senator," Paxton posted to X in February. "It will be difficult for [Cornyn] to be an effective leader since he is anti-Trump, anti-gun, and will be focused on his highly competitive primary campaign in 2026."

Cornyn responded that it was "hard to run from prison," and told the Dallas news that he was not too concerned about a challenge from Paxton. Cornyn is also a former Texas Attorney General.

“I don’t stay awake at night worrying about it,” Cornyn said of Paxton's possible challenge.

Cornyn defeated his latest challenger, Democrat M.J. Hegar by nearly 10 percentage points and garnered almost 6 million votes, according to The Hill.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.