{"id":2604617,"date":"2026-05-19T16:51:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T20:51:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senate-gop-fumes-after-trump-backs-paxton-of-cornyn-in-texas\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T16:53:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T20:53:08","slug":"senate-gop-fumes-after-trump-backs-paxton-of-cornyn-in-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senate-gop-fumes-after-trump-backs-paxton-of-cornyn-in-texas\/","title":{"rendered":"Senate GOP fumes after Trump backs Paxton of Cornyn in Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsenate-gop-fumes-after-trump-backs-paxton-of-cornyn-in-texas%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2604617&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Senate Republicans reacted with frustration after President Donald Trump endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the GOP Senate primary. Lawmakers argued the move could jeopardize a winnable seat because Paxton\u2019s ethics and legal controversies make him a weaker general-election candidate, even as the primary heading into a May 26 runoff becomes more favorable to Paxton.<\/p>\n<p>Trump defended his choice in a statement,citing Paxton\u2019s loyalty and contrasting it with Cornyn\u2019s past criticisms. Before the endorsement, Cornyn and Paxton were nearly tied in early voting; however, the endorsement is expected to shift momentum toward Paxton and lead some Republicans to believe Democrats could win Texas.<\/p>\n<p>Key Republican figures voiced disappointment. Sen. Lisa Murkowski warned that losing a seat like Texas woudl harm the president\u2019s influence,and Sen. Susan Collins called Paxton \u201cethically challenged\u201d while emphasizing Cornyn deserved Trump\u2019s support. Senate Majority Leader John Thune acknowledged he doesn\u2019t control Trump\u2019s decision but insisted Republicans have the resources to hold their majority and keep supporting Cornyn.<\/p>\n<p>Vice president JD Vance framed the endorsement as a party accountability message, saying officials must serve voters in line with the president. The episode follows Trump\u2019s recent political victories and comes amid polling suggesting Texas Democrats\u2019 nominee, Rep. James Talarico, is competitively placed against both Cornyn and Paxton in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/impossible-gop-picked-up-seats-in-house-picked-up-state-legislatures-picked-up-governorship-held-the-senate-but-sniffy-joe-won-not-a-chance\/\" title=\"IMPOSSIBLE: GOP Picked Up ...s in House, Picked Up State Legislatures, Picked Up Governorship, Held the ... -- But Sniffy Joe Won?... NOT A CHANCE\">general election<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p>Senate Republicans made little effort to hide their disappointment Tuesday with President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a>\u2018s decision to endorse Texas Attorney General <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ken-paxton\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"4370\">Ken Paxton<\/a> over incumbent Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/john-cornyn\/\">John Cornyn<\/a> (R-TX).<\/p>\n<p>GOP lawmakers were quick to relitigate Paxton\u2019s political baggage and warned that the president may have just cost himself a winnable Senate seat by snubbing Cornyn. The two are locked in a bitter fight for the GOP nomination that will be decided in a May 26 runoff.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4575122\/senate-gop-fumes-trump-endorses-ken-paxton-texas\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Senate GOP fumes after Trump snubs Cornyn with Ken Paxton endorsement<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/4574847\/thomas-massie-campaign-misleading-text-trump-endorsement\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Massie campaign sends misleading text implying Trump endorsement<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4574752\/gavin-newsom-urges-democrats-ruthless-trump\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Gavin Newsom urges Democrats to become \u2018ruthless\u2019 against Trump<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>\u201cIf Paxton wins the primary, we\u2019ll be for him. But you don\u2019t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out the pathway for Paxton is there, but it\u2019s more uphill and it will cost more,\u201d said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a Trump ally who estimated it would cost Republicans three times more in the general election if Paxton prevails later this month.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>In a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4574393\/trump-endorses-ken-paxton-ahead-texas-senate-primary-runoff\/\">lengthy statement<\/a>, Trump emphasized Paxton\u2019s loyalty and Cornyn\u2019s past criticism of him to explain why he decided to take sides in the primary. In doing so, he ignored a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3927050\/thune-trump-endorsement-power-protect-senate-majority\/\">lobbying blitz from Senate Republicans<\/a> focused on Paxton\u2019s ethics scandals and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/build-back-better-act-polling-underwater-in-key-swing-districts\/\" title=\"Build Back Better Act Polling Underwater In Key Swing Districts\">polling showing<\/a> him to be the weaker general election candidate.<\/p>\n<p>Cornyn had been in a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolling.com\/polls\/senate\/republican-primary\/2026\/texas-runoff\">dead heat<\/a> with Paxton as early voting got underway on Monday, and Cornyn came out slightly ahead when the two ran against each other in the March primary. But the Trump endorsement is expected to tilt the scales in Paxton\u2019s favor, setting off a wave of upset from Republicans who believe the seat is now in play for Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), who survived a Trump-backed challenger in her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sen-tim-scott-launches-2022-senate-reelection-bid\/\" title=\".... Tim Scott Launches 2022 ... ... Bid\">2022 reelection campaign<\/a>, called the Paxton endorsement \u201csupremely disappointing\u201d and predicted that Republicans could lose Texas, a red state, as a result.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd how does that strengthen the president\u2019s hand, when we lose a seat like Texas?\u201d Murkowski said.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), one of the most endangered Senate Republicans running in November, called Paxton an \u201cethically challenged individual,\u201d alluding to infidelity and corruption allegations that were at the center of his 2023 impeachment by the Texas House. Paxton was later acquitted by the state Senate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJohn Cornyn is an outstanding senator and deserved, in my judgment, the president\u2019s support,\u201d Collins said. \u201cObviously, it\u2019s the president\u2019s call, but I\u2019m disappointed that he did that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The warnings come as polling shows state Rep. James Talarico, Texas Democrats\u2019 nominee for Senate, virtually tied with both Cornyn and Paxton in the general election. Talarico is 1.5 points ahead of Paxton, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolling.com\/polls\/senate\/general\/2026\/texas\/talarico-vs-paxton\">according to<\/a> a <em>RealClearPolitics<\/em> polling average, and half a point ahead of Cornyn.<\/p>\n<p>Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) tried to tamp down the idea that Trump might cost Republicans this fall, telling reporters on Tuesday they had the candidates, resources, and message to keep and possibly grow their three-seat majority.<\/p>\n<p>But Thune was visibly frustrated by Trump\u2019s decision after months spent trying to convince him to support Cornyn\u2019s reelection. National Republicans also invested heavily to help Cornyn advance to the May runoff.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNone of us control what the president does,\u201d Thune said. \u201cHe made his decision about that \u2014 that doesn\u2019t change the way I feel, and I will continue to be supportive of Sen. Cornyn and his reelection.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cornyn has previously been critical of Trump and urged the party to move past the president before he was reelected in 2024. More recently, Cornyn has tried to curry Trump\u2019s favor in the hope that he will at least stay neutral in his race, going so far as to abandon his support for the filibuster and introducing a bill to name a highway after Trump. Those <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >attempts ultimately fell flat<\/a>, however, as Trump argued that Cornyn was not there for him when \u201ctimes were tough.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4574406\/thune-not-fan-trump-1-8-billion-anti-weaponization-fund\/\"><strong>THUNE: \u2018I DON\u2019T SEE A PURPOSE IN DOJ\u2019S $1.8 BILLION \u2018LAWFARE\u2019 COMPENSATION FUND<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Addressing the endorsement, Vice President JD Vance said that Trump\u2019s decision should serve as an example to the rest of the party. His Paxton endorsement came days after the president successfully helped oust another of Thune\u2019s incumbents, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have got to serve the people who sent you,\u201d Vance said. \u201cAnd if you don\u2019t do that, you\u2019re going to find yourself out of step with voters or out of step with the president of the United States, and that\u2019s not a good place to be politically.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Senate GOP concealed disappointment after Trump backed Ken Paxton over John Cornyn<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3204,"featured_media":2604618,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AP26063152131022.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[32319,45064,38244,34548,37104],"class_list":["post-2604617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-donald-trump","tag-john-cornyn","tag-ken-paxton","tag-senate-gop","tag-texas-politics"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AP26063152131022.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2604617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3204"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2604617"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2604617\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2604621,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2604617\/revisions\/2604621"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2604618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2604617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2604617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2604617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}