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John Cornyn

U.S. Senate · TX · Republicans · since 2021

also

Candidate for U.S. Senate · TX

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Biography

Overview

John Cornyn is the senior Republican U.S. Senator from Texas, a seat he has held since 2002. Born in Houston in 1952, he previously served as a district judge, Texas Supreme Court justice, and Texas Attorney General before entering the Senate. He has held several leadership positions within the Senate Republican caucus.

Career

Cornyn previously served as National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman (2009-2013) and Senate Republican Whip (2013-2019). He co-founded the Senate India Caucus and has been active in supporting conservative judicial appointments, including voting to confirm Samuel Alito and John Roberts to the Supreme Court. He has sponsored legislation on victims' rights, border security, and immigration enforcement. He was a candidate for Senate Majority Leader in 2024 but lost the runoff election.

Prior political experience

Cornyn was first elected to the Senate in 2002, defeating Democrat Ron Kirk. He won reelection in 2008 against Democrat Rick Noriega, in 2014 against Democrat David Alameel (by over 20 points), and in 2020 in his closest race against Democrat MJ Hegar. In the 2026 election, he received 42% in the March primary, setting up a May runoff against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Biographical material adapted from the Wikipedia article (retrieved April 29, 2026), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Ideology

Liberal–Conservative (DW-NOMINATE dim 1)

Liberal
Conservative
119th Congress+0.471

Secondary axis (DW-NOMINATE dim 2)(?)

−1
+1
-0.062
Source: Voteview DW-NOMINATE · 673 scored votes

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Officeholding history

TermSeatTerm datesTerminationPredecessorSuccessor
5thU.S. Senate TX Class 22021–presentIn progressJohn Cornyn—
4thU.S. Senate TX Class 22015–2021Term endedJohn CornynJohn Cornyn
3rdU.S. Senate TX Class 22009–2015Term endedJohn CornynJohn Cornyn
2ndU.S. Senate TX Class 22003–2009Term endedJohn CornynJohn Cornyn
1stU.S. Senate TX Class 22002–2003Term ended—John Cornyn

Committee assignments

Current term legislation

Bills sponsored this term10

Bills cosponsored this term10

Elections

YearSeatResultVote shareField
——Pending——