President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the May 23 GOP primary runoff against Sen. John Cornyn has landed with a thud inside the Republican conference, with multiple senators warning it could make the seat harder—and costli
The moment President Donald Trump endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for the Republican primary runoff against Sen. John Cornyn. the reaction inside the GOP came fast and sharp—less about ideology than math. and the fear that a scandal-tainted ballot name could become a drag on a race Republicans had been counting on to hold.
Senate Republicans reacted with dismay to Trump’s endorsement. openly expressing fears it would make it harder and more expensive for Republicans to keep the Texas seat. Cornyn is in the fight of his political life in the May 23 primary runoff election against Paxton. in a campaign that has been viciously brutal. While Cornyn is widely viewed as the stronger candidate for the general election due to Paxton’s series of scandals. lawsuits. and controversies. the attorney general has gotten support from the MAGA wing of the GOP for his combative. far-right stances.
Trump’s choice also landed in a sequence that made some senators’ anger feel personal. Trump initially declined to endorse for the primary. but posted on Truth Social that he would throw his support behind a candidate “soon” one day after the initial primary held earlier this year. urging whoever didn’t get his endorsement to drop out. Multiple media outlets reported the president was initially expected to endorse Cornyn.
Paxton responded with a tweet framed as a Hail Mary. pledging he would drop out if Senate leadership lifts the filibuster to pass the SAVE Act. a bill Trump vehemently supports. Cornyn had already expressed support for the SAVE Act. but soon publicly declared his willingness to ditch the filibuster to get it passed—something he had not taken before. A week ago, Cornyn introduced a bill to name a federal highway after Trump.
Trump ultimately made his endorsement Tuesday. He teased the pending announcement that morning and then posted a long Truth Social message lauding Paxton as “someone who has always been extremely loyal to me and our AMAZING MAGA MOVEMENT. ” while dunking on Cornyn as someone who “is a good man. and I worked well with him. but he was not supportive of me when times were tough.”.
For GOP lawmakers watching the general-election consequences, the key issue is that Texas is unlikely to be forgiving in November. As Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) put it. she was “supremely disappointed” and speculated that Trump’s support “puts that seat in jeopardy” in November. “How does that help strengthen the president’s hand when we lose a state like Texas?” she asked.
Murkowski wasn’t the only senior Republican who sounded alarmed about the cost of defending the seat. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). who in 2016 infamously tweeted that if the GOP nominated Trump “we will get destroyed…and we will deserve it. ” fretted that the already costly race would now be even more expensive. He predicted it would be “three times more expensive” to secure a win for Paxton.
Others framed their disbelief more directly. The normally taciturn Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) was described as “stone-faced” in exasperation while reacting to the endorsement. When asked about it, Thune said, “It’s his decision.” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) was also described as “stone-faced. ” with the reaction lasting about 20 seconds as he walked into lunch and was asked for his response.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said she “doesn’t understand” why Trump endorsed the “ethically challenged” Paxton.
Senate Republicans weren’t just critical—they looked stunned. Punchbowl’s congressional defense reporter Anthony Adragna reported that Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) refused to comment and that Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said he was “speechless.” Sen. Schmitt told Adragna he hadn’t seen the endorsement; after being told it happened. Schmitt said. “I’m just not going comment. The people of Texas have their chance to weigh in now.”.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who had just lost his primary after Trump endorsed his opponent, had a sharper jab. “I thought Ken Paxton was a felon,” he said.
Paxton’s legal history is at the center of much of the unease. Paxton was indeed charged with multiple felonies in a securities fraud case. and he managed to keep the case dragging along for years. In 2024. he reached a deal with prosecutors that let him avoid pleading guilty if he paid restitution (about $271. 000) to the former clients he was accused of defrauding. completed 100 hours of community service. and took 15 hours of legal ethics courses.
The political stakes are heightened by how expensive this fight already is. Even before the runoff. this year’s Texas Senate battle was already the most expensive Senate primary on record. burning through over $128 million. with $98.9 million spent just by the Republican campaigns and PACs. Trump’s endorsement of Paxton raised concerns that it would be far more difficult and expensive to defend the seat with the scandal-plagued attorney general’s name on the ballot.
That financial pressure is part of why the GOP reactions weren’t simply ideological disagreements; they were immediate warnings about risk. Murkowski said the move could put the seat in jeopardy. Graham predicted the path to victory would be dramatically more expensive. Collins said she didn’t understand the decision. Thune and Wicker projected something closer to controlled frustration—stone-faced reactions paired with statements that offered little comfort to teammates trying to plan for November.
On the Democratic side, the primary was less fractious. State Rep. James Talarico (D) surpassed Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) by a comfortable margin; she conceded the race the next morning and tweeted a call for her supporters to “remain united” and “rally around our nominees.”
But inside the Republican conference, the emphasis stayed on the same point: whether Trump’s Paxton endorsement makes the Texas seat easier to lose or harder to hold—especially as the primary runoff approaches on May 23.
Donald Trump Ken Paxton John Cornyn Texas Senate GOP senators SAVE Act filibuster primary runoff May 23 John Thune Lisa Murkowski Lindsey Graham