AUSTIN, Texas — After months of speculation, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has announced he’s running for Senate, challenging fellow GOP member, Sen. John Cornyn for his seat.

Paxton launched his campaign website shortly before he made an appearance “The Ingraham Angle” on Fox News.

“It’s definitely time for a change in Texas,” Paxton said in an interview with Ingraham. “We have another great Senator, Ted Cruz, and it’s time we have another great senator that will actually stand up and fight for Republican values, fight for the values of the people of Texas and support Donald Trump in the areas he’s focused on in a very significant way.”

Paxton has targeted Cornyn since the senator became one of few prominent Republicans to criticize him during his political impeachment trial in 2023. Cornyn also previously came under criticism from conservative activists who have driven the party’s agenda farther to the right. 

Paxton’s announcement comes on the heels of a district court ruling in favor of four whistleblowers who said that Paxton retaliated against them for reporting bribery allegations, awarding his employees more than $6 million combined in damages.

In 2020, eight of Paxton’s closest aides accused him of using his office to benefit a Texas real estate developer who employed a woman Paxton was having an extramarital affair with. He was impeached and acquitted in the Texas Senate in 2023.

In her judgment, Travis County Judge Catherine Mauzy said that Paxton violated state law by firing the former employees after they brought forth bribery allegations against his office.

However, the Associated Press reported earlier this month that the Justice Department decided in the last weeks of the Biden administration not to prosecute Paxton in the high-stakes federal probe.

Cornyn has served in the U.S. Senate since 2002. Throughout his tenure, he has been a prominent figure in the Senate, holding key leadership positions and serving on influential committees. Cornyn’s committee assignments have included the Senate Finance, Judiciary, Intelligence, Foreign Relations and Budget Committees. He was elected by his peers as Senate Minority Whip in 2012 and served as Senate Majority Whip from 2014 to 2019. Cornyn narrowly lost to South Dakota Sen. John Thune to become Senate majority leader.

With Paxton entering the race, it will likely be the Cornyn’s most competitive primary campaign to date.