TX Senate: John Cornyn (R)
PROFILE
About Cornyn:
John Cornyn was born in Houston, Texas, in 1952 and grew up in San Antonio, the second of three children. Cornyn graduated from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, with a degree in journalism in 1973. Later in 1977, Cornyn graduated from St. Mary’s Law School in San Antonio, and joined a San Antonio law firm where he specialized in defending doctors and lawyers in malpractice suits, combining his love of medicine and law.
At the age of 32, Cornyn ran for, and won, an open state district judge seat in Bexar County. After serving as a state district judge for six years, Cornyn was elected to the Texas Supreme Court in 1990 and re-elected in 1996. After resigning from the Texas Supreme Court, Cornyn ran for attorney general of Texas. He was the first Republican to win that office since Reconstruction.
Cornyn was first elected to the United States Senate on Nov. 5, 2002, winning more than 55% of all votes cast. During his first U.S Senate term, Cornyn co-founded the bipartisan Senate India Caucus to promote U.S.-India bilateral relations and to discuss issues of common interest.
The Project on Government Oversight awarded Cornyn with the first Bi-Partisan Leadership Award in 2005 to honor his dedication to issues of government oversight and transparency. Cornyn won his third “Hero of the Taxpayer” award from Americans for Tax reform the following year.
In 2008, Sen. Cornyn was elected for a second term continuing to serve on the committees of Budget, Finance, and Judiciary.
In 2013, the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce named Cornyn the “Small Business Advocate of the Year” for his commitment to small businesses in Texas and around the country.
After being elected to a third term, Cornyn was elected by his peers to serve as the Majority Whip.
