Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) faces a hotly contested GOP primary as he seeks a fifth term in office, but he is leaning on a “character” argument to keep his seat in the Senate.

Cornyn faces a battle with GOP Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Republican Senate primary next year. The incumbent senator told the New York Times he believes the race will be a contest to show if “character still matters” in politics, pointing to Paxton’s impeachment by the state legislature.

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“I’m willing to bet my career and my future and this job on my belief that character does matter still,” Cornyn told the outlet.

He also claimed Paxton was betting “that he can get away with a whole litany of misbehavior and corruption that should disqualify him from the job.”

Paxton was the subject of a misconduct investigation related to his role challenging the 2020 election results, as well as an investigation into corruption in his office, which led to his impeachment. All investigations into him were dropped. In a separate case, whistleblowers were awarded $6.6 million after being fired for reporting Paxton to the FBI.

Paxton has pushed back on Cornyn’s line of attack and claimed that the incumbent senator has not sufficiently backed President Donald Trump. When announcing his bid, Paxton said he would be a senator who would “actually stand up and fight for Republican values.”

The primary is scheduled for March 2026, but polls have shown Cornyn trailing his challenger, Paxton. A poll released earlier this week from the Barbara Jordan Public Policy Research and Survey Center at Texas Southern University showed Paxton with 43% and Cornyn with 34%.

POLL SHOWS KEN PAXTON BEATING INCUMBENT JOHN CORNYN IN HEATED BATTLE FOR TEXAS SENATE SEAT

Cornyn dismissed the early polling deficit, telling the New York Times he is “not as well known at this particular time,” because he has not been on the ballot since 2020, while Paxton ran for reelection for Texas attorney general in 2022.

Last year, Cornyn lost his bid to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as Republican Senate majority leader.

The Texas Senate race is rated as “solid Republican” by the Cook Political Report. Despite efforts from Democrats to make Texas in play in recent years, the 2022 and 2024 elections proved the Lone Star State is still firmly in GOP control.