WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said he will still seek reelection in 2026 after falling a few votes short Wednesday in his bid to become the next Senate majority leader.
Asked about what comes next for him in the Senate, Cornyn at first said he wasn’t sure. Then he offered a potential template for his next chapter.
“I think about somebody like Phil Gramm, who’s my predecessor, who, even though he wasn’t elected leadership, was always in the middle of some of the hardest issues that confronted the Congress and was a warrior,” Cornyn said. “And I think it’s a pretty good role model. But again, this just happened a few minutes ago, so I’ll figure it out.”
Cornyn has served for many years at the top levels of Senate Republican leadership, waiting patiently in deference to Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who has led the conference since 2007.
As Cornyn eyed the top job, he raised hundreds of millions in campaign funds for his fellow Senate Republicans, collecting chits along the way and building a network of support.
He came up just a few votes shy Wednesday as the conference voted 29-24 to elevate their No. 2, Sen. John Thune of South Dakota. That final tally came after dark horse candidate Sen. Rick Scott of Florida was eliminated in a first round of voting.
“Close but no cigar,” Cornyn said after the vote. “We gave it our best.”
Cornyn suggested he will back off the aggressive fundraising he’s done for other Senate Republicans, saying those efforts “crowded out other things I’m really interested in.”
“I’m probably going to find other ways to spend a lot of my time,” Cornyn said.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, announced Wednesday morning he would support Scott, as he did when the Floridian unsuccessfully challenged McConnell in 2022.
“For 12 yrs, I’ve been unequivocal that we need to change GOP Leadership — and now we finally will,” Cruz said on X.
Cornyn supported Cruz’s reelection.
After Wednesday’s vote, reporters asked Cruz if he supported Thune or Cornyn on the second ballot. Cruz just winked, declining to answer.
Thune was long viewed as the frontrunner in the race. He will assume the powerful position as Republicans are poised to take over the majority in January after flipping several Democratic seats in last week’s election.
At a news conference after the vote, Thune said voters gave Republicans a mandate to “clean up the mess” left by the Biden administration and to deliver on Trump’s agenda.
He said that includes securing the border, cutting regulations and restoring American energy dominance.
“It’s a new day in the United States Senate and it’s a new day in America,” Thune said.
The three-way race for majority leader had been dominated by discussion of which senator was best positioned to work with President-elect Donald Trump.
“We’re all united to pass the president’s agenda,” Cornyn said Tuesday night as he left a private Republican forum held in an ornate meeting room named for the last Texan to serve as Senate majority leader – Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson.
Cornyn has sparred with Trump at times, but in a Tuesday letter to colleagues the Texan had characterized himself as in step with the incoming president.
“It’s imperative that Republicans hit the ground running to implement President Donald Trump’s agenda for the American people,” Cornyn said in the letter. “That means the Senate must take swift action to confirm his Cabinet from day one.”
Some conservative pundits had mounted a pressure campaign promoting Scott as the most aligned with Trump and highlighting times when Cornyn and Thune broke with the president-elect. Scott was eliminated after receiving 13 first-round votes to 15 for Cornyn and 23 for Thune, according to multiple news reports.
Trump, who did not endorse a candidate, said he looked forward to working with Thune.
“He moves quickly, and will do an outstanding job,” Trump said on social media.