Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. John Cornyn III (born February 2, 1952) is the junior United States Senator from Texas. He is a Republican and was elected to his first term in November 2002, having defeated Democrat Ron Kirk, the former mayor of Dallas, Texas. In the general election of November 4, 2008, he defeated the Democratic State Representative Rick Noriega of Houston for his second term. He was elected Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 111th U.S. Congress.