Overview
- President Trump’s endorsement of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton helped Paxton win the Republican nomination and is now blamed by Sen. John Cornyn for making the seat more competitive for Democrats.
- Cornyn told The New York Times he was “stung” by the endorsement and warned that November could be a “disaster” for Republicans that would leave the president politically weakened.
- The senator said he will not campaign or raise money for Paxton and reserved the right to withhold deference to the president on key issues, which cuts off a major GOP fundraising source.
- Cornyn specifically urged overturning a Justice Department settlement that shielded President Trump and his family from IRS scrutiny and called for equal treatment under the law.
- Paxton’s long-recorded controversies and Cornyn’s public break have already prompted strategists to rework race ratings and could force higher Republican spending in Texas and other battlegrounds.