Republicans break the ice with Paxton after brutal Texas Senate primary
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Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Texas Senate GOP nominee Ken Paxton. Photos: Andrew Harnik and Smiley N. Pool via Getty Images
Senate Republican leaders are rushing to mend fences with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, signaling to big-dollar donors that the road to keeping the majority now runs straight through Texas.
Why it matters: The goal is to make the $130 million Senate primary between Paxton and Sen. John Cornyn feel like an anti-Alamo — not something to remember, but something to forget.
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) talked by phone with Paxton on Wednesday before endorsing him on "The Hugh Hewitt Show" and taking aim at Democratic nominee state Rep. James Talarico.
- "We've got to pivot," Thune said. "Losing is not an option when it comes to the state of Texas and what it means for our majority in the Senate."
- "Ken Paxton has my endorsement and support," Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso said on X.
🤗 Zoom in: As soon as the results rolled in Tuesday night, senators started rolling out endorsements of Paxton.
- Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) appears to have been the first GOP senator to endorse Paxton. "The voters have spoken, now Republicans must unite and win," he wrote on X, moments after the AP called the race.
- Cornyn also made clear he intends to back Paxton in the general election, but he couldn't quite bring himself to mention him by name.
- National Republican Senatorial Committee chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) endorsed Paxton by name on Wednesday.
💸 State of play: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who stayed neutral in the primary, is now opening up his D.C. donor network to Paxton.
- He and four other GOP senators — including Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) — will host a $3,500-per-person fundraiser for Paxton on June 2.
Zoom out: Republicans aren't in a full panic about losing the Texas Senate seat, but they are concerned about how much it will cost — and who will pay for it.
- The margin of Paxton's victory — roughly 28 percentage points — surprised some GOP strategists. But most agree that beating Talarico, who is raising massive sums online, will be expensive.
- To win the majority, Democrats likely have to carry two of three states — Alaska, Ohio and Texas — that President Trump won by double digits in 2024.
😩 The intrigue: After Trump endorsed Paxton last week, a Thune ally made it clear the president's political operation should shoulder the burden of the general election.
- "Republicans may keep Texas, but you broke it, you buy it. MAGA Inc. just became Texas Inc.," a Thune ally told Axios.
- "The president picked his candidate, and now the president can play a role in making sure the seat stays red," another GOP campaign operative said.
🙈 The bottom line: The most important signal from the GOP establishment last night was not what they said — but what they erased.
- The NRSC scrubbed its website and social feeds of anti-Paxton content.
- Republicans can't memory-hole the entire primary — but they got caught trying.
Editor's note: This article has been updated.
