Trump blames Cornyn and Rove if Paxton loses Texas Senate race
President Donald Trump said that a loss by Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton would be due to actions by Sen. John Cornyn and strategist Karl Rove, as polls show the Democrat leading.
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that if Texas Senate nominee Ken Paxton is defeated, the result will be the fault of incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn and conservative commentator Karl Rove. Trump accused the two of "doing everything possible to make it hard" for Paxton, the state attorney general, to beat Democratic candidate James Talarico.
"If Ken Paxton loses, it will be because of WEAK and INEFFECTIVE Political Hacks like John Cornyn and Karl Rove, who have ineffectively opposed me for my entire political career," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Recent polls indicate that Talarico holds a low-to-mid single-digit lead over Paxton, making the race one of the most competitive in the 2026 midterm cycle. Texas, a traditionally Republican state that has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1988, voted for Trump over Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris by nearly 14 points in 2024.
Cornyn’s office and Rove did not respond to requests for comment. Trump’s endorsement of Paxton in the GOP primary was viewed as a challenge to Cornyn, whom the president has previously labeled disloyal. The contest has attracted significant funding, with GOP spending exceeding $370 million, outpacing Democratic expenditures by about $235 million, according to AdImpact.
Trump has also criticized Rove in past posts, calling him a "loser" and urging media outlets to stop featuring him. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Rove said he would support a Democratic candidate in a different Texas race, marking only the second time he would vote for a Democrat.