Senate GOP 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 primary between Paxton and Sen. John Cornyn feel like an anti-Alamo — not something to remember, but something to forget.

• Majority Leader John Thune talked by phone with Paxton today 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 last 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 tonight.

💸 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 us.
• "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.

— Hans Nichols

Several of Trump's top political advisers are joining Rep. Mike Collins' campaign in the Georgia Senate race, we have learned.

⚡️ Why it matters: The hires provide the clearest indication yet that Trump may be leaning toward endorsing Collins ahead of his June 16 primary runoff against former University of Tennessee head football coach Derek Dooley.

• The winner will face Sen. Jon Ossoff (D) in November.

👥 Zoom in: Trump 2024 adviser Tony Fabrizio has been tapped to serve as Collins' pollster and senior strategist.

• Tim Saler, the Trump campaign's chief data strategist, will serve in the same capacity for Collins.
• Chip Englander, who was Trump's battleground states' strategist, will be general consultant.

🔮 The big picture: Trump is not always predictable in who he supports.

• In Texas, top Trump strategists worked for Cornyn, but Trump ended up endorsing Paxton.

🧮 By the numbers: Collins received 41% in last week's primary, but fell short of the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff against Dooley, who finished second with 30%.

Between the lines: Collins is only a few days removed from dismissing a top campaign staffer over a "despicable and unauthorized" post that targeted the wife of longtime Vice President Vance adviser Luke Thompson.

• "I want to apologize for this offensive tweet," Collins wrote on Friday. "I have made staffing changes to ensure this type of behavior never happens again."

🥊 The intrigue: Should Trump endorse Collins, it could create a proxy fight against Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who is supporting Dooley.

Share this scoop

— Alex Isenstadt