Trump Already Blaming Cornyn, Rove for Potential Paxton Loss in Texas

With Texas attorney general Ken Paxton trailing in both the polls and the money race for this year’s U.S. Senate race in Texas, President Trump is already shifting blame elsewhere. He says Senator John Cornyn — whom Mr. Paxton defeated in this year’s GOP primary — and the former chief political strategist for President George W. Bush, Karl Rove, deserve credit for a potential loss. Mr. Trump endorsed Mr. Paxton in the Republican primary shortly before the vote this spring, helping to boost Mr. Paxton to a nearly 30-point victory over Mr. Cornyn. Mr. Cornyn has said that he will support the Republican ticket this fall, though he has declined to explicitly endorse Mr. Paxton and once blocked him from a fundraiser with other GOP Senate candidates. In a Truth Social post on Thursday, Mr. Trump lambasted both Messrs. Cornyn and Rove for not doing enough to back Mr. Paxton. “Sadly, and very stupidly, John Cornyn, and his Liddle’ Buddy, Super RINO, Karl Rove, are doing everything possible to make it hard for Ken Paxton … to win the upcoming Midterm Election,” Mr. Trump wrote. “John Cornyn who, after my Endorsement, lost the Primary to Ken by a very wide margin, and Karl Rove, who shouldn’t be allowed to spew his jealousy on FoxNews, should be ashamed of themselves.”Mr. Rove has openly criticized Mr. Paxton, calling him corrupt and immoral. “If John Cornyn were the nominee, this race would be over,” Mr. Rove recently said at the Texas Tribune Festival at Austin. “But when you got a guy who’s got multiple girlfriends, $200,000 worth of improvements in his house from a corrupt business guy for whom he does favors … and now it’s in the court of public opinion.”“If this were not out there, this would be a normal Republican versus Democrat,” Mr. Rove said. Despite the advice from Messrs. Cornyn and Rove, as well as multiple Senate Republicans who warned Mr. Trump of a possible Paxton candidacy, Mr. Trump is still saying that it is not his fault that Mr. Paxton is lagging in the polls. As of Thursday, Mr. Paxton is still trailing his Democratic opponent, state representative James Talarico, by about two points. Also on Thursday, Mr. Talarico announced he had raised $64 million during the third quarter. During the same period, Mr. Paxton raised only $18 million. Last month, Mr. Cornyn hosted a Dallas fundraiser for around half-a-dozen Republican senators and GOP Senate candidates which was headlined by Mr. Bush. Mr. Cornyn told the New York Sun at the time that he personally made the decision to exclude Mr. Paxton from the guest list. “That was my idea,” Mr. Cornyn said with a smile after being asked who decided to keep Mr. Paxton away. He called the event “very successful.” The fundraiser was for Mr. Cornyn’s group Maintain the Majority, a joint fundraising operation that supports Republican candidates in Alaska, Ohio, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, and Iowa.

Trump Already Blaming Cornyn, Rove for Potential Paxton Loss in Texas

Trump Already Blaming Cornyn, Rove for Potential Paxton Loss in Texas

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