President Donald Trump’s voters are reportedly pressuring him not to endorse Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) as he and state Attorney General Ken Paxton are headed for a May runoff election.
President Donald Trump’s supporters, whom Axios on Sunday referred to as Make America Great Again (MAGA), view it as a choice between the GOP establishment or his base.
Republican leaders are worried that if Paxton becomes the GOP nominee he could lose in November to state Rep. James Talarico (D), whom Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) described as “deeply progressive.”
The Axios article said Trump’s supporters have been criticizing Cornyn online while those backing the senator have argued that Paxton “who was impeached by the Texas Legislature on corruption charges and has faced allegations of infidelity — would be a disastrous general election candidate who could lose and help put the GOP’s Senate majority in jeopardy.”
Paxton slammed Cornyn in an ad on Friday by using the senator’s own history of working to take down Trump, Breitbart News reported.
In a statement provided to the outlet, Paxton said, “John Cornyn has spent years trying to destroy President Trump and undermine the America First movement. Time after time, when President Trump was under attack, John Cornyn joined in with the Swamp to try and tear him down.”
He continued:
From his support for the lawfare against the President to his relentless attempts to stop both his 2016 and 2024 presidential campaigns, Cornyn has worked tirelessly to hurt Donald Trump. While he has been engaged in his anti-Trump witch hunts, I have always stood by the President — fighting the stolen 2020 election, standing up to corrupt lawfare against President Trump, and supporting his 2024 campaign on Day 1.
Meanwhile, Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) said he is backing Paxton in the runoff on May 26.
“I’m proud to endorse @KenPaxtonTX. If we’re ever going to change the way Congress works, we need to elect stronger leaders. The status quo has FAILED,” he wrote in a social media post:
Trump recently made it clear to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Cornyn that he wants the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to vote, on his desk before making an endorsement in the race, per Breitbart News.
In addition, GOP strategist Caroline Wren told the outlet she opposed Cornyn’s bid for a fifth term, stating, “John Cornyn, to me, represents I think everything is wrong with the US Senate.”
Wren also said, “Donald Trump’s endorsement is the most powerful endorsement in the country, and it is something that should be earned,” adding she does “not think John Cornyn has earned that endorsement.”
