President Donald Trump issued a blistering preemptive indictment of Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and GOP strategist Karl Rove on Thursday, warning that if Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton loses his Senate race next month to Texas State Rep. James Talarico (D-50th District), the blame falls squarely on them.
Trump went after both men on Truth Social as Paxton heads into the final stretch of a race that has tightened into a dead heat.
"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, the Greatest Attorney General in the History of Texas, and one of the Best in the United States, to win the upcoming Midterm Election against a Radical Left Lunatic, James TalaFREAKO, who is the ANTITHESIS of Texas Values," Trump wrote.
Trump then turned to the primary. "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," he continued. "They are hurting Texas and, more importantly, hurting the United States of America!"
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"If 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," Trump wrote.
Trump wants Cornyn's voters, and he asked for them directly. Touting his own record in the state, he wrote that "your favorite President (ME!) is asking all of those who supported Senator John Cornyn to UNITE, and immediately switch your support to Ken Paxton." He closed by warning that Texas "cannot take a chance on having a FREAKO" in Washington.
After Paxton's lopsided primary win in the May runoff, the senator kept attacking his former rival and taking shots at Trump. According to The Texas Tribune, Cornyn has said he won't move money into Paxton's campaign. Rove, meanwhile, has repeatedly criticized Paxton, once claiming the race "would be over" if Cornyn had won the nomination, and he still won't say whether he'll vote for Paxton or Talarico.
Trump is probably not wrong.
At a private fundraiser, Paxton was caught on a hot mic telling supporters how badly Cornyn wants him to lose “to teach those Republicans a lesson.”
Cornyn's camp denies ever making such a statement.
Let's be honest, here. Saying you support "the ticket" while keeping your wallet closed is the political equivalent of a shrug, and in a race this close, a shrug can cost a seat. Most polls show Talarico narrowly ahead, but the two most recent surveys tracked by RealClearPolitics have Paxton up by one point (InsiderAdvantage) and the race tied (Quantus Insights).
The Texas Senate RCP Aggregate. The YouGov & NYT polls are Talarico +6 which is insane. That would be Talarico by 600,000 votes. Not gonna happen. If you remove those polls from the Aggregate, you get 🟦 Talarico 47.6% (+1.6) 🟥 Paxton 46% https://t.co/1FwgB8byTU
— David D. Chapman (@DavidD_Chapman) October 16, 2026
I still believe that Paxton will win by about four points.
Primaries exist so that voters can choose the nominee. Texas Republicans made their choice, and egos get bruised as a result. But if you consider yourself a conservative, you don’t hope that someone like James Talarico wins to teach your party a lesson.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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