With Donald Trump's supporters expected to play a key role in next year's Texas Senate race's Republican primary, two veteran candidates are trying to overcome baggage and play up their ties to the president.
Incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, first elected to the chamber in 2022, is seen as being part of Washington's establishment. He also worked closely with former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., a Trump critic.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is challenging Cornyn in the GOP primary, has been a strong Trump supporter. However, he was indicted in 2015 on security fraud charges, and was impeached by the GOP-controlled Texas House before the state Senate ultimately voted to acquit him.
Many elected Republicans, such as Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Texas Reps. Michael McCaul and Keith Self, have refrained from endorsing a candidate. Doing so would incur the wrath of a large number of party members.
"We've got a long way to go," Self said, The Texas Tribune reported. "Grab your popcorn, and let's see what happens."
Recent polls have shown Cornyn trailing Paxton. A Paxton-allied super PAC even showed the attorney general with a 19-point (57% to 38%) lead in a head-to-head matchup, Politico reported.
Some GOP operatives fear that an ugly, expensive primary could provide an opening for Democrats in the Senate race.
For now, Cornyn is focused on courting the Make America Great Again base and emphasizing his support for Trump.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee is backing Cornyn "to deliver big wins for Texans and fight for the president's agenda in the U.S. Senate," according to spokesperson Nick Puglia, the Tribune reported.
The senator's team includes Trump's former campaign pollster Tony Fabrizio and adviser Chris LaCivita.
Cornyn praised Trump's recent decision to bomb Iranian nuclear sites, saying he "made the courageous and correct decision to eliminate the Iranian nuclear threat" and called Trump "indomitable." The senator also has encouraged a probe into former President Joe Biden's use of the autopen.
Cornyn has voted to confirm all of Trump's cabinet nominees, but it appears many voters are not forgetting Cornyn served as the Senate whip under McConnell during Trump's first term and helped pass the first gun safety bill in a generation.
The senator also was slow to back Trump's presidential campaigns in both 2016 and 2024.
Cornyn's team reached out to Newsmax to say the senator voted with the president 99.19% of the time during Trump's first term, and that the Texan's endorsement of Trump in 2024 was the earliest the senator had ever issued an endorsement in a contested presidential primary.
Matt Mackowiak, a senior adviser on Cornyn's campaign, insists the senator has not changed in his views.
"There's a false perception about Cornyn's actual record, and it's part of our job to make sure that people understand what it actually is," Mackowiak said, the Tribune reported.
Paxton's people, meanwhile, are comparing their candidate to Trump.
The attorney general's security fraud charges were dropped after Paxton agreed to perform community service and pay restitution.
"Everyone's come after him, and he literally won't stop fighting — and he's won every battle," Paxton adviser Nick Maddux said, the Tribune reported.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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