Senator Cornyn was born in Houston on February 2, 1952, the second of three children of Gale and John Cornyn, both native Texans. Senator Cornyn's father was a B-17 pilot in World War II and served our country faithfully for 31 years. Raised as he was in a military family, Senator Cornyn traveled a great deal growing up. At various points, he and his family lived in Houston, El Paso, and San Antonio, Texas; Biloxi, Mississippi; Kensington, Maryland; and Tokyo, Japan.
In 1973, Senator Cornyn earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Trinity University in San Antonio. After starting as a biology major, hoping to become a doctor, Sen. Cornyn realized science wasn’t his passion and he switched to journalism and worked for the school pap
er. He earned his Juris Doctor from St. Mary's University School of Law in 1977. While serving as a Justice on the Texas Supreme Court, Senator Cornyn earned his Master of Laws degree from the University of Virginia in 1995.
Senator Cornyn ran for state district judge in Bexar County in 1984 to fight the "good ole boy" system and restore the reputation of fair and impartial justice to the courthouse. As Judge of Texas' 37th District Court, Senator Cornyn primarily presided over civil law suits, including domestic relations cases.
In 1990, Senator Cornyn was elected to the Texas Supreme Court and brought his successful record of reform from San Antonio to Austin to combat corruption. After eight years pursuing reform of the judicial branch of Texas government, Senator Cornyn answered the call to help reform the executive branch. In 1998, he became the first Republican elected Attorney General of Texas since Reconstruction and was sworn in by Governor George W. Bush. As Attorney General, Senator Cornyn was the state's chief law enforcement officer and worked to enforce child support, consumer protection, improve crime victim services, and investigate and prosecute selected criminal cases.
Senator Cornyn was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002, succeeding Senator Phil Gramm. He earned the respect of fellow Texans by bringing successful state policies to Washington. In his first term, Senator Cornyn served on the Senate Armed Services, Judiciary, and Budget committees. In 2006, he was elected to the Republican Senate Leadership team as Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference. Following his re-election in 2008, Senator Cornyn's Republican colleagues chose him to serve as Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for two terms where he helped to recruit and support Republican candidates for Senate seats nationwide.
Throughout his time in Congress, Sen. Cornyn has been the recipient of many awards. In 2005, the Project on Government Oversight awarded Sen. Cornyn with the first Bi-Partisan Leadership Award in honor of his dedication to issues of government oversight and transparency. Sen. Cornyn won his third “Hero of the Taxpayer” Award from Americans for Tax Reform. Sen. Cornyn was awarded the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network (RAINN) “Crime Fighter Award” and the Children At Risk “Founders Award” for his work fighting for legislation to help end the rape kit backlog and protect victims of child exploitation. The U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce named Sen. Cornyn the “Small Business Advocate of the Year” for his commitment to small businesses in Texas and around the country. Sen. Cornyn was named Mr. South Texas in 2015 for his dedication to the growth and development of Laredo and the South Texas region.
In 1977 at the age of 25, Senator Cornyn met his future wife, Sandy Hansen, on a blind date. They were married in 1979 and have two daughters, Danley and Haley.
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