Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is staying neutral in a bitter primary for Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-TX) Senate seat, a race that has already begun to splinter Texas’s congressional delegation.

In a striking departure from Senate tradition, Cruz won’t endorse Cornyn, his home state colleague, as he faces a fierce challenge from Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general framing himself as the MAGA candidate in the race.

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In 2020, Cruz endorsed Cornyn as he mounted a largely uncontentious primary run, while Cornyn offered a delayed endorsement for Cruz’s 2018 race and supported him in 2024.

“I’m staying out of the race,” Cruz told the Washington Examiner. “Both John and Ken are friends of mine. I’ve worked closely with both of them. I respect them both, and I will trust the decision to the voters of Texas.”

Cruz is just one of 26 Texas Republicans on Capitol Hill who will be asked to take sides in one of the most divisive primaries of the 2026 cycle. Cornyn, who has served in the Senate since 2002, promised a “spirited campaign” in reacting to Paxton’s Wednesday entry into the race, dredging up charges of infidelity that became the focus of Paxton’s 2023 impeachment trial.

Paxton, for his part, is staking his candidacy on the perception that Cornyn is not sufficiently loyal to Trump. Cornyn emphasized his support for the president in his own campaign launch last month but in 2023 argued the party should move on from Trump.

On Wednesday, Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) became the first House Republican from Texas to endorse Paxton, calling him a “conservative warrior who has always stood with President Trump.”

“John’s been up here about 24 years. He wants to do 30 years,” Nehls said of Cornyn in a brief interview with reporters. “If you can’t get your agenda done in 24 years, you’re not going to get it done in 30, that’s it. So I’m all in.”

A spokesperson for Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX) said the congressman will be staying out of the race for now, while Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) sidestepped the question ahead of a House budget resolution vote.

“I’m not talking about the political climate right now,” Roy said. “I gotta get this bill on the budget.”

For weeks, Cornyn has been shoring up support from the ranks of Senate Republicans. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, praised him as a “leader who delivers on President Trump’s agenda” in a Wednesday statement.

Cornyn has garnered endorsements from the Border Patrol union and Senate conservatives like Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN) as well.

He will nonetheless have to overcome a restive primary electorate as polls show Paxton with an early lead. Party leaders had been hoping to clear the field and keep their powder dry on what could be a nine-figure race.

Texas remains red, with Cruz winning his 2024 race by more than 8 points, but could be put further in play with a protracted primary.

When asked if he had thoughts on Nehls endorsing his challenger, Cornyn responded, “Not really.”

“Kinda doesn’t matter,” he told the Washington Examiner.

This is not the first time Cruz has snubbed Cornyn. He supported Scott in last year’s race to become the next Senate majority leader. Both Scott and the eventual winner, Sen. John Thune (R-SD), had the support of their home-state colleagues.

Cruz, who arrived in the Senate in 2013, also held out on endorsing Cornyn’s 2014 reelection campaign as he faced a Tea Party-favored House Republican in the primary.

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By all accounts, Cruz and Cornyn have since forged a collegial relationship across their 12 years together in the Senate. But they have long been an odd pairing in both style and politics. 

Cruz is a firebrand who represents the right wing of his party, while Cornyn, though a conservative, has at times shown a willingness to work across the aisle. Paxton praised Cruz as a “great U.S. senator” in launching his campaign on Fox News on Wednesday evening.

Rachel Schilke and Ramsey Touchberry contributed to this report.