Trump blames Cornyn and Rove for Paxton's Texas Senate struggles
President Donald Trump publicly attributed potential failure in the Texas Senate race to Sen. John Cornyn and Karl Rove, asserting they are obstructing candidate Ken Paxton. Trump posted on Truth Social that if Paxton loses, it will be due to "WEAK and INEFFECTIVE Political Hacks" like Cornyn and Rove. The statement arrives as the race tightens, with Texas not having elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1988 despite Trump winning the state by 14 points in the previous election cycle.
President Donald Trump publicly attributed potential failure in the Texas Senate race to Sen. John Cornyn and Karl Rove, asserting they are obstructing candidate Ken Paxton. Trump posted on Truth Social that if Paxton loses, it will be due to "WEAK and INEFFECTIVE Political Hacks" like Cornyn and Rove. The statement arrives as the race tightens, with Texas not having elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1988 despite Trump winning the state by 14 points in the previous election cycle.
New polling data indicates Democrat James Talarico holds a narrow lead over Paxton, 50% to 47%. This shift follows months of warnings from Republican leaders who predicted that Paxton's primary victory over Cornyn would increase the cost of retaining the seat. Those predictions have materialized, with AdImpact reporting that more than $500 million in advertising spending has already entered the race.
The financial intensity of the campaign is underscored by recent Federal Election Commission reports confirming Elon Musk's support for Paxton. Musk transferred $158 million to the Senate GOP's main super PAC in September through two transactions. According to Axios, SLF made equal-sized transfers to a Texas-focused pop-up super PAC the day after each Musk donation.
Cornyn acknowledged the internal party tensions in an interview with Semafor earlier in October. "Got to be more careful when you run with the big dogs," Cornyn said, following leaked audio from a Paxton event in Washington, D.C. The quote highlights the friction within the Republican base as the election approaches.
Despite facing significant opposition spending, Talarico's campaign has demonstrated strong fundraising capabilities. He raised $64 million in the third quarter, a figure Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) described as "mind-blowing" on Thursday. Talarico's campaign reported that 97% of these contributions were under $100, relying on a broad base of small donors. This fundraising strategy allowed Talarico to accumulate hard dollars, which command lower advertising rates compared to soft money.
In contrast, Paxton raised $18 million during the same period. The disparity in fundraising totals reflects the different financial strategies employed by both candidates as they compete for control of a key Senate seat.