diff --git a/google-cloud-spanner/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/spanner/TransactionRunnerImpl.java b/google-cloud-spanner/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/spanner/TransactionRunnerImpl.java
index c10b713285..21812aa96a 100644
--- a/google-cloud-spanner/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/spanner/TransactionRunnerImpl.java
+++ b/google-cloud-spanner/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/spanner/TransactionRunnerImpl.java
@@ -654,7 +654,7 @@ private <T> T runInternal(final TransactionCallable<T> txCallable) {
         new Callable<T>() {
           @Override
           public T call() {
-            if (txn.isAborted()) {
+            if (attempt.get() > 0) {
               txn = session.newTransaction();
             }
             checkState(