Ken Paxton defeated John Cornyn in the May 26, 2026 Texas Republican Senate primary runoff — and he didn’t just win, he won fast. The race was called in something like five seconds. For a four-term incumbent United States Senator, that’s not a loss. That’s a verdict. And I want to make sure every Second Amendment supporter in America understands exactly what that verdict means.
The Betrayal That Started It All
I have been angry at John Cornyn for four years. Not because I wanted to be — I tried to educate him. I tried to educate everyone in Washington who would listen.
In 2022, in the aftermath of the Uvalde shooting at Robb Elementary School, there was enormous political pressure to “do something.” President Biden went on national television and demanded it. And rather than hold the line, Cornyn — at the behest of Mitch McConnell — sat down with Senate Democrats to negotiate a federal gun control bill.
I wrote in Breitbart at the time: “There is no excuse for any Republican to negotiate away our Second Amendment rights. Neither ignorance of firearms nor a desire to do something justifies embracing the civilian disarmament lobby’s agenda in any respect.”
I also laid out how any legitimate negotiation works: if Democrats want enhanced background checks, gun owners get nationwide concealed carry in return. You don’t hand the other side everything and walk away with nothing. But that is exactly what happened. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act — signed into law by Biden on June 25, 2022 — delivered red-flag law funding, expanded background checks for buyers under 21, and the closure of what Democrats called the “boyfriend loophole.” Gun owners got zero. Not one thing.
What makes it even more remarkable is the timing. NYSRPA v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1 (2022), was decided on June 23, 2022 — two days before Biden signed the BSCA. We had just won the most important Second Amendment victory in over a decade. The constitutional wind was entirely at our backs. And Cornyn and McConnell chose that precise moment to hand Biden and the Democrats the first significant federal gun control legislation in roughly thirty years.
Dante Had a Circle for This
A Republican who runs as a defender of the Second Amendment and then negotiates it away is worse than a political enemy. An enemy you expect. A traitor is something else.
In Dante’s Inferno, the deepest part of Hell — the Ninth Circle — was reserved not for murderers or heretics, but for traitors. The betrayers of their own. That is where Cornyn placed himself in 2022, and the voters of Texas delivered their verdict four years later.
The Full BSCA Accounting
Fifteen Republican senators voted for the 2022 Biden gun control bill. I want you to look at where most of them are now, because the trend is remarkable:
- Roy Blunt (Missouri) — retired, gone
- Richard Burr (North Carolina) — retired, gone
- Bill Cassidy (Louisiana) — just lost his re-election primary
- John Cornyn (Texas) — just lost his re-election primary
- Joni Ernst (Iowa) — announced she will not seek re-election
- Rob Portman (Ohio) — retired, gone
- Mitt Romney (Utah) — retired, gone
- Thom Tillis (North Carolina) — announced he will not seek re-election
- Pat Toomey (Pennsylvania) — retired, gone
- Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) — leaving the Senate
A few I’m willing to give a pass — Susan Collins is about as conservative as Maine is going to elect, and we need her vote for judges. Lisa Murkowski is effectively a Democrat, but Alaska is Alaska. Lindsey Graham reaches across the aisle more than I’d like, but he’ll be there. Shelley Moore Capito may have made a mistake on this one. And Todd Young of Indiana is the one name on that list still sitting comfortably in his seat — for now.
But the core message is undeniable: nearly every Republican senator who negotiated away your Second Amendment rights in 2022 is gone, heading for the exit, or — as of last night — just got thrown out by their own constituents.
What Trump’s Endorsement of Paxton Tells You
Donald Trump endorsed Ken Paxton, and Paxton won decisively. As Fox News reported, Trump’s Senate endorsement record this cycle was eight-for-eight heading into Tuesday night.
I have said for years — and taken heat for it — that Trump is a winner. I was a media surrogate for his 2016 campaign and on his presidential transition team. The Trump behind closed doors is the same Trump in public. He is who he is. And what he is, is someone who fights to win — including on the Second Amendment.
The MAGA movement’s message in this primary is the same message I’ve been delivering since 2022: support the right to keep and bear arms, or find another line of work. The Second Amendment community has a long memory. Cornyn’s loss proves it.
This article is based on analysis by Professor Mark W. Smith, constitutional attorney and Host of the Four Boxes Diner 2nd Amendment channel. Watch the original video here. This does not constitute legal advice.