Even modest moves from Trump could influence the GOP Senate race among John Cornyn, Ken Paxton and Wesley Hunt.
By Gromer Jeffers Jr.
Dallas Morning News
https://www.dallasnews.com/
The Associated Press
President Donald Trump seems to be taking small steps to make a big splash in Texas’ political crosscurrents.
Even modest moves from Trump matter in the March 3 Senate primary among the three prominent Republicans scrambling for an edge: longtime incumbent John Cornyn, Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt of Houston.
Trump said he’s still weighing his endorsement options.
“I’m giving it very serious thought,” he told reporters earlier this month in Florida. “My problem is that I’m friendly with all of them. So those are the hard ones.”
Many Republicans expect the primary to end without a majority winner, setting up a runoff between the top two candidates, when Trump’s support could prove decisive.
The race has national implications, and Cornyn’s incumbency may also factor in. With his term running through 2027, he is a reliable pro-Trump vote in a narrowly divided Senate.
“The last thing Trump wants for the Senate is an angry and spurned Cornyn,” said Rice University political scientist Mark Jones.
For their part, Democrats say a bruising Republican runoff would improve their chances, especially if it ends with Ken Paxton, who they see as the weaker general election candidate.
Each of the GOP Senate contenders has highlighted ties to Trump while angling for his endorsement. Their latest pitches:
Cornyn: He’s said Paxton would be a risky nominee, especially in a year when Republicans have faced political headwinds. He’s also pointed to his record of easy general election wins, including a 10-point victory in 2020.
Cornyn has warned that even if Paxton won in November, he’d be an “albatross” for other Republican office-seekers, costing “hundreds of millions of dollars to save him.”
“I can help with the down-ballot candidates,” Cornyn told my Washington-based colleague, Joseph Morton. “Paxton will either lose or else he’ll win by the skin of his teeth.”
Paxton: He was leading the race until Cornyn and his allies began pounding him with negative ads and digital attacks that targeted his legal and personal troubles.
Paxton opted not to spend campaign resources to answer back fully, so the race has tightened, and some polls now show it as a dead heat.
Paxton has sought to counter Cornyn by emphasizing his deeper MAGA credentials. He filed suit to overturn 2020 election results in several battleground states and attended the Jan. 6, 2021, pro-Trump rally that preceded that Capitol riot.
Paxton has said Cornyn has exaggerated his support of Trump as a political ploy, is too cozy with Democrats and cannot be trusted. He said that baggage and all, he’d beat the Democratic nominee in reliably red Texas.
Hunt: He has leaned hard into his loyalty to Trump at his campaign events, casting himself as a new generation MAGA leader. He said his youth makes him a better choice for Senate over Cornyn or Paxton.
Hunt’s backers say his appeal to Trump is that he’s MAGA without the distractions his rivals bring.
Because Trump’s early endorsements have had uneven results, he may hold off until a runoff, when going for Hunt could have a greater effect.
Eyeing the Democrats
Trump also may be watching the Democratic side of the Senate race between U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas and state Rep. James Talarico of Austin.
Talarico has said he can draw independents and crossover Republicans needed to win a general election. Crockett has said she can expand the electorate by mobilizing infrequent and nonvoters.
After the Democratic primary is over, Trump can size up the general election opponent, influencing his decision.
As Republicans wait, Trump has signaled his choice can swing the outcome.
“They say whoever I endorse wins,” he said.
The Howard University graduate and Chicago native has covered four presidential campaigns and written extensively about local, state and national politics. Before The News, he was a reporter at The Kansas City Star and The Chicago Defender. You can catch Gromer every Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on NBC 5’s Lone Star Politics.
This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and Texas Metro News. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’ communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.
