John Cornyn

John Cornyn III ( KOR-nin; born February 2, 1952) is an American politician and former judge who is the senior United States senator for Texas, a seat he has held since 2002. He is a member of the Republican Party. Born in Houston, Cornyn is a graduate of Trinity University, St. Mary's University School of Law, and the University of Virginia School of Law. He was a judge on Texas's 37th District Court from 1985 to 1991, an associate justice of the Texas Supreme Court from 1991 to 1997, and Attorney General of Texas from 1999 to 2002. He was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002. During his tenure, Cornyn chaired the National Republican Senatorial Committee from 2009 to 2013 and served as the Senate Republican whip from 2013 to 2019. Cornyn has been described as an establishment Republican. Although considered conservative by voting record, he has a reputation for bipartisan negotiation on gun legislation and immigration reform. In 2022, he helped negotiate passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, for which he was rebuked by the Republican Party of Texas. Cornyn ran for reelection in 2026. After narrowly coming in first place but not receiving more than 50% of the vote in the Republican primary, he faced Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a runoff election. Cornyn lost renomination in the May runoff, receiving about 37% of the vote. Cornyn is the first incumbent Texas senator to lose renomination since Ralph Yarborough in 1970.