John Cornyn comments on redistricting and Ken Paxton | Texas: The Issue

John Cornyn on facing Ken Paxton | Texas: The Issue Is

In this week's episode, Steven Dial talks to Sen. John Cornyn about his upcoming political race against Attorney General Ken Paxton, as well as redrawing congressional districts and more.

DALLAS - Senator John Cornyn talks about redistricting efforts in Texas and takes a jab at his competitor, Ken Paxton, in this week’s episode of Texas: The Issue Is.

Texas Redistricting

Steven Dial: Could this plan backfire on Republicans?

Sen. John Cornyn: You know, everything I've seen indicates that while California is successful in negating the five seats in Texas, that other states like Ohio, maybe Missouri, and others will see a gain in Republican seats nationwide. And I know President Trump wants to make sure that in the midterm elections, we keep the House, otherwise it means his agenda is in trouble. 

Dial: Does this not show that Republicans are nervous about the midterms? 

Cornyn: Well, I think it shows we don't take anything for granted. You know, President Trump wants to be able to pursue his agenda, and that requires a Republican majority in the House. And, you know, Speaker Johnson has been pulling rabbits out of the hat, right and left, even with razor-thin majorities. So I think he'd like a little bit of a cushion during the last two years of President Trump's second term of office, so he can. Continue to pursue the agenda he got elected on.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also supports the redistricting plan in Texas.

He’s challenging Cornyn for Senate and FOX 4 offered his campaign the same opportunity for an interview. Here’s what he said in an August interview.

Ken Paxton: It is exactly what you said. It's theatrics. Think about this. They've gerrymandered most of these Democratic states. Many of them have no Republican representation. Illinois, what, three Republicans out of 17 when the state voted 44% for Donald Trump or 45% for Trump. And I think we have nine states that have gerrymandered so much they literally eliminated all Republicans. So the hypocrisy of this, I mean, I don't know how they sit in front of a camera or even constituents and claim that they were going back to Jim Crow when the Democrats have done it all across the country, and we're just a little late to the game.

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Cornyn vs. Paxton

When it comes to the primary election between Cornyn and Paxton…

Cornyn: My opponent, the current Attorney General, believes that character doesn't matter. And he thinks that all the baggage that he brings to the polls with him is not going to make any difference to the voters who show up and vote in the Republican primary. 

Dial: You talked about your opponent, Ken Paxton. Your campaign recently took a jab at him about the 10 Commandments being in classrooms. Care to comment on that?

Cornyn: Well, I mean, he said he was gonna insist that the 10 Commandments be posted in all classrooms, but I suggested he might wanna brush up on the 10 Commandments because he seems to have struggled with at least one or more of those commandments, and it did get a bit of attention. 

Paxton has also taken jabs at Cornyn on social media. In a post this week, Paxton said, "Just think how much Trump will accomplish when he doesn't have John Cornyn fighting him in the Senate."

Dial: You're the senior senator from Texas. You're not leading in multiple polls. Why do you think that is? 

Cornyn: Well, I always say that, you know, in the Senate, you run every six years. That's good news. The bad news is you run it every six years, and a lot happens in the meantime. And I am not one of those who goes to Washington to engage in performance art. You know, we have too many people want to go to Washington and be famous. They want to be on TV. They want to raise money, and they want to get the most clicks on social media. I prefer to solve problems.