Trump Texas Senate: Paxton Loss Blamed on Cornyn, Rove

The trump texas senate race took a sharp turn Thursday as President Donald Trump named his scapegoats for a potential defeat, warning that if Attorney General Ken Paxton loses to Democrat James Talarico, the blame will fall on Sen. John Cornyn and conservative strategist Karl Rove.

In a Truth Social post, Trump said Cornyn and Rove were doing everything possible to make it harder for Paxton to win, calling them weak and ineffective political hacks who have opposed him throughout his career. Trump endorsed Paxton over Cornyn in the Republican primary, a move that helped sink the four-term incumbent senator — who has since refused to endorse his former rival.

A Race That Shouldn’t Be Close

Texas has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1988, yet polling over the past two months has consistently shown Talarico holding a narrow lead in the low-to-mid single digits over Paxton. The race has become the most expensive of the 2026 cycle, with hundreds of millions of dollars pouring in from both sides.

Talarico, a state representative, raised $64 million in the third quarter alone — the largest quarterly haul of any Senate candidate in history — and has collected more than $134 million since launching his campaign.

Rove recently voiced doubts about Paxton’s candidacy, saying Cornyn would have been the stronger general-election candidate. Cornyn’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

GOP Unity Fraying Before Election Day

Trump urged Cornyn’s supporters to unite behind Paxton immediately, warning that Texas could not risk sending Talarico to Washington. The public blame-casting highlights deep fractures in the Republican Party less than three weeks before the November 3 midterms, with early voting approaching in the Lone Star State.

For a president who has tied his own standing to the race’s outcome, the preemptive finger-pointing signals how seriously the White House views a state it carried by nearly 14 points just two years ago.

Source: Axios / Washington Examiner