Politics

Defeated GOP Senator Is Really Going Through It Right Now

Sen. John Cornyn in 2012 (Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America / Wikimedia Commons)

Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn appeared to be grieving his loss in the Texas Senate runoff race with quotes from the Bible and Winston Churchill.

Cornyn lost to Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in Tuesday’s runoff race by a 28-point margin. In several X posts, the senator insinuated that he “fought the good fight” and that the end of his term is “not the end.”

“‘Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning,’ Winston Churchill,” Cornyn wrote in a statement on X Friday.

“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

Winston Churchill

— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) May 29, 2026

Cornyn also cited an old fable about a frog carrying a scorpion across a river, though the scorpion doomed both of them after stinging the frog.

“An old, but apt fable: A scorpion wants to cross a river but cannot swim, so it asks a frog to carry it across. The frog hesitates, afraid that the scorpion might sting it, but the scorpion promises not to, pointing out that it would drown if it killed the frog in the middle of the river,” Cornyn wrote. “The frog considers this argument sensible and agrees to transport the scorpion. Midway across the river, the scorpion stings the frog anyway, dooming them both. The dying frog asks the scorpion why it stung despite knowing the consequence, to which the scorpion replies: ‘I am sorry, but I couldn’t help myself. It’s my character.'”

An old, but apt fable:

A scorpion wants to cross a river but cannot swim, so it asks a frog to carry it across. The frog hesitates, afraid that the scorpion might sting it, but the scorpion promises not to, pointing out that it would drown if it killed the frog in the middle of…

— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) May 29, 2026

The Texas Republican also cited 2 Timothy 4:7, stating, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7:

— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) May 27, 2026

President Donald Trump endorsed Paxton on May 19 during early voting for the runoff. He accused Cornyn in a Truth Social statement of being “very disloyal” and of not fighting hard enough to pass his agenda. Cornyn originally co-sponsored the Safeguard America Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act and introduced the legislation in the Senate along with Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee, however, the legislation has struggled to get through the Senate due to the 60-vote threshold to avoid a filibuster.

Trump called on Senate Republicans to nuke the filibuster to get the legislation passed. Cornyn published an op-ed for the New York Post in March arguing that Democrats’ willingness to use procedural hurdles to block the SAVE America Act justified changing Senate rules.