Donald Trump rages at “VERY disloyal”John Cornyn on eve of primary runoff

In the post, Trump wrote that Paxton was a GREAT Attorney General” and “also very loyal to your favorite President, ME, as the Dumocrats played their ultimate game of Weaponization, and failed, BADLY!”

Newsweek has contacted the Cornyn and Paxton campaigns for comment via emails sent outside regular business hours.

Trump endorsed Paxton last week, boosting his chances of securing the nomination, and the race has become the latest in which Trump is encouraging voters to oust a politician who has drawn his ire and elect one more aligned with him.

That effort has been largely successful for Trump. Last week, Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky lost in the GOP primary to Trump’s handpicked candidate Ed Gallrein while incumbent Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy was defeated by Trump-endorsed candidates Julia Letlow and John Fleming.

Cornyn on Sunday sought to distance himself from Massie and Cassidy in an appearance on NewsNation’s The Hill Sunday.

“I think it’s very different from the Cassidy and Massie situation, because I’ve been a Trump ally,” Cornyn said on NewsNation’s The Hill Sunday.

He added that the believes Trump’s endorsement of Paxton was born out of frustration with the Senate, and that he has supported the president’s agenda while choosing his disagreements on a case-by-case basis.

Why the Race Matters

The winner of Tuesday’s run-off election in Texas will advance to November’s general election to face Democratic state Representative James Talarico.

Talarico, who blends faith-based rhetoric with progressive politics, has built broad statewide support. Despite Texas voting for Trump by double digits in 2024, Talarico is viewed as a formidable challenger capable of becoming the first Democrat to win a Texas Senate seat since 1993.

Because of the competitive general election outlook, many establishment Republicans have rallied behind Cornyn. They view Paxton’s highly publicized history as a distinct liability for the party.

The attorney general’s career has been punctuated by a number of legal and ethical controversies, including a 2015 felony securities fraud case that was resolved without conviction; corruption allegations from aides which led to a $6.6 million settlement paid by the state; and a 2023 impeachment by the Republican-led Texas House, for which Paxton was later acquitted by the state Senate. Paxton has consistently denied all wrongdoing.

Thune Backs Cornyn

Senate Majority Leader John Thune pledged his support for Cornyn after Trump endorsed Paxton in the primary runoff.

Thune said it was the president’s decision to endorse Paxton, telling reporters that “none of us control what the president does.”

But it doesn’t “change the way I feel,” he said. “And I am certainly supportive, I will continue to be supportive of Senator Cornyn and his reelection.”

He called Cornyn “a principled conservative” and “a very effective senator for the state of Texas.”

When Thune was pushed on how much harder the president had made efforts for Republicans to keep the Senate majority, Thune noted that Republicans have 24 seats to defend while Democrats only have nine.

“One state doesn’t determine the outcome of this election, but obviously we care about every state and we care about helping see our incumbents succeed,” he said.

“That being said, I feel very good about where we are. As I’ve said before, I think when it comes to winning elections, it starts with quality.”