Cornyn has for years signaled he wanted to succeed his close ally GOP leader Mitch McConnell. He lost in a vote decided by the Republican members of the Senate.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn lost his bid Wednesday to become the first Texan to hold the powerful U.S. Senate majority leader post since Lyndon B. Johnson, losing the closed-door GOP vote just hours after fellow Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz announced he would ...