Latest news with #PreservingTexas
Newsweek
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Fight Between Texas Republicans Spills Into Florida
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A group supporting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's bid for fellow Republican John Cornyn's Senate seat is planning to air an advert in Palm Beach, Florida, over the weekend attacking the incumbent congressman, according to Axios. Newsweek contacted Cornyn and Paxton for comment, via email and online inquiry form respectively, on Friday outside regular office hours. Why It Matters In April, Paxton announced he was mounting a primary challenge against Cornyn, who has held the seat since 2002, setting up a high-stakes contest between two Texas Republican big hitters ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Paxton has portrayed himself as the candidate aligned with Trump's Make America Great Again movement, vowing to "champion President Trump's legislative priorities." The contest offers a snapshot of grassroots Republican opinion in Texas, and a Paxton win could give the Democrats a shot at their first Texas Senate seat in 33 years, according to one poll. What To Know On Thursday, Axios reported that Preserving Texas, a pro-Paxton campaign group, was planning to air an attack ad over the weekend via Fox News, Newsmax and the Golf Channel. The advert is targeting Palm Beach, Florida, where Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort is located. The publication said the videos were being aimed at "an audience of one: President Trump." The attack ad allegedly criticizes Cornyn for backing a 2022 bipartisan gun safety bill that he helped negotiate, causing Trump to label the Senator a "RINO," which means Republican in name only. "As usual, President Trump was right," the ad says, per Axios. Senator John Cornyn, left, during a committee hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., on January 15 and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton outside the U.S. Supreme Court on November 1, 2021. Senator John Cornyn, left, during a committee hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., on January 15 and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton outside the U.S. Supreme Court on November 1, 2021. Kevin Dietsch/Drew Angerer/GETTY Citing "a person familiar with the buy," the publication said Preserving Texas was spending about $60,000 to air the video across the three networks. In 2022, as a response to Cornyn's support for a bipartisan gun safety bill, Trump wrote on Truth Social: "The deal on 'Gun Control' currently being structured and pushed in the Senate by the Radical Left Democrats, with the help of Mitch McConnell, RINO Senator John Cornyn of Texas, and others, will go down in history as the first step in the movement to TAKE YOUR GUNS AWAY." More recently, Cornyn has praised Trump over his efforts to achieve a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. The Texas Senate primary fight has already turned heated, with Cornyn calling Paxton "a con man and a fraud," while the attorney general previously said Cornyn was part of "the Bush wing of the GOP." In 2023, Paxton was acquitted by the Texas Senate of 16 articles of impeachment, including corruption, misusing official information and abusing his official capacity. What People Are Saying A spokesperson for Senator John Cornyn told Axios: "Corrupt Ken Paxton ordered up another mediocre campaign video that predictably lies about Senator Cornyn's long career of strongly supporting Second Amendment Rights. As an avid hunter himself, Senator Cornyn supports the constitutional right to carry and always has." While announcing his primary challenge in April, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton told Laura Ingraham: "We have another great U.S. senator, Ted Cruz, and it's time we have another great senator that will actually stand up and fight for Republican values, fight for the values of the people of Texas, and also support Donald Trump in the areas that he's focused on in a very significant way. And that's what I plan on doing." What Happens Next The president has not endorsed Cornyn or Paxton in the primary battle. The general election for the Texas Senate seat is scheduled for November 3, 2026.
Axios
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Scoop: New anti-Cornyn ad has audience of 1 — Trump
A group backing Texas Sen. John Cornyn's 2026 primary opponent is out with its first TV ad — but it's not airing in Texas. Instead, it's airing in Palm Beach, Fla., where it's aimed at an audience of one: President Trump. Why it matters: The strategy behind the ad shows the battle for Trump's coveted endorsement has already begun between Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Cornyn. It's expected to be one of most expensive and bitterly contested Senate races next year, and has led Senate GOP leaders to close ranks behind Cornyn, a prolific fundraiser. Zoom in: Preserving Texas, the group backing Paxton, will air the ad over the weekend on Trump-friendly Fox News, Newsmax and the Golf Channel in Palm Beach, home to Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. The ad assails Cornyn for backing a bipartisan gun safety bill i n June 2022, and highlights Trump's ensuing criticism of Cornyn as a "RINO," or Republican In Name Only. "As usual, President Trump was right," the ad says. Preserving Texas is spending about $60,000 to air the ad over two days, according to a person familiar with the buy. Zoom out: Cornyn, 73, is a four-term senator and former Texas Supreme Court justice whom Trump has criticized for not going along with Trump's claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him. But recently Cornyn has taken steps to show he's aligned with Trump's MAGA movement — including by posting a picture of himself reading Trump's "The Art of the Deal." Those close to the senator say he has smoothed over past tensions with Trump. Paxton, 62, is a longtime Trump ally and MAGA loyalist. He worked to overturn Trump's 2020 election loss and attended Trump's 2024 hush money trial in New York to show solidarity with him. Paxton is a controversial figure in Texas politics. He was indicted in 2015 on security fraud charges, which were dropped later. He also was impeached by the state House of Representatives in 2023 on bribery and corruption charges, but was acquitted by the state Senate. The intrigue: Trump is a cable news junkie, and Republican candidates and interest groups are known to run ads in South Florida with an eye toward influencing him. In 2020, Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie aired a commercial in Palm Beach in which he called his primary opponent a "Trump hater." The other side: "Corrupt Ken Paxton ordered up another mediocre campaign video that predictably lies about Senator Cornyn's long career of strongly supporting Second Amendment Rights," a Cornyn spokesperson told Axios.
