Source: Politics<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump is blaming fellow Republicans as his endorsed candidate, Ken Paxton, appears to be in a fierce struggle for a Senate seat in Texas with Democratic challenger James Talarico in a state the GOP has long taken for granted.<\/p>\n
Trump, in a lengthy post to Truth Social<\/a> Thursday, singled out longtime Republican strategist Karl Rove and Sen. John Cornyn, the incumbent who failed to secure the president’s endorsement in a heated primary.<\/p>\n Rove and Cornyn, Trump said, are doing \u201ceverything possible\u201d to make it harder for Paxton to defeat Talarico, a state lawmaker and Presbyterian seminarian who is making a suprisingly strong run for Senate in deep red Texas.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are hurting Texas and, more importantly, hurting the United States of America!\u201d Trump wrote. \u201cIf 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Cornyn, a longtime fixture in Texas politics, lost his bid for reelection<\/a> in a contentious Republican primary in which he and his supporters portrayed Paxton as a deeply flawed candidate. As Election Day approaches, public polling<\/a> over the past two months has shown Talarico with a narrow edge against Paxton, the state’s attorney general.<\/p>\n Trump urged his supporters to back Paxton.<\/p>\n \u201cYour favorite President (ME!) is asking all of those who supported Senator John Cornyn to UNITE, and immediately switch your support to Ken Paxton,\u201d Trump said. \u201cHe will be a Great Senator, just like he is a Great Attorney General. “<\/p>\n The race has also become one of the most expensive non-presidential battles. Talarico raised $64 million this summer<\/a> \u2014 the largest third-quarter haul of any Senate candidate in history. He has raised more than $134 million since launching his campaign last year.<\/p>\n Paxton raised $18 million<\/a> in the third quarter of 2026 and last month announced a new $20 million ad buy<\/a>. Earlier this month, though, a Trump operative told POLITICO<\/a> that MAGA Inc. and its affiliates are could spend nearly $45 million on direct mail, TV and digital advertising in Texas through Oct. 12.<\/p>\n Already, $235 million has been spent by outside conservative groups and party committees against Talarico as national Republicans scramble to boost Paxton.<\/p>\n Some Republicans have grown concerned that the cost of the Texas race is diverting money needed in other states and have expressed frustrations<\/a> with Paxton after leaked audio<\/a> showed him blaming Trump for his woes.<\/p>\n Trump easily won Texas in 2024<\/a>, winning just over 56% of the vote. But concerns about Republicans\u2019 chances this November<\/a> have surged as the president\u2019s approval rating plummets.<\/p>\n