President Donald Trump took to social media Thursday to blast U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Republican stalwart Karl Rove for doing “everything possible to make it difficult” for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to win the U.S. Senate election.
Trump said in a Truth Social article that Rove and Cornyn, who lost a controversial and costly runoff to Paxton in May, “should be ashamed of themselves” for their lack of support for Paxton.
“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.
Trump encouraged GOP voters who previously supported Cornyn to unite and “immediately shift” their support to Paxton. The president also insulted Paxton’s Democratic opponent, Texas Rep. James Talarico, calling him the “antithesis of Texas values.”
Talarico made a concerted effort to influence moderate and undecided Texans — including Cornyn’s primary voters — throughout his campaign. During a CNN town hall Wednesday evening, the Austin Democrat pushed back on his party’s record on border security while criticizing the Trump administration’s “corruption” and misuse of federal immigration enforcement.
Cornyn, a prolific political fundraiser, has not endorsed Paxton and told the Texas Tribune in August that he would not move money to Paxton’s campaign. He also described Paxton as lazy and a “poor activist.”
Rove, a former adviser to President George W. Bush, did not say whether he would vote for Paxton. During a discussion at the Texas Tribune Festival in September, Rove said the U.S. Senate race in Texas “would be over” if Cornyn had defeated Paxton in the primary. He also highlighted allegations that were part of Paxton’s 2023 impeachment trial that ended in acquittal by the Texas Senate.
“You have a guy who has multiple girlfriends, $200,000 worth of improvements to his house thanks to a corrupt businessman who he’s doing favors for… and now it’s in the court of public opinion,” Rove said. “If this did not exist, it would be a normal confrontation between Republicans and Democrats. »
Rove and Cornyn have pledged to break party ranks in a separate election for Texas railroad commissioner. Both cited racist comments from Republican candidate Bo French, with Rove saying he would vote for the Democratic candidate, Texas Rep. Jon Rosenthal, and Cornyn saying he might leave his ballot blank for that race.
Trump’s comments come as early voting begins Oct. 19 and polls consistently show the Democrat with a single-digit lead over Paxton, a rarity in statewide elections that Republicans have dominated for three decades.
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