DALLAS — President Donald Trump on Saturday spoke about the already contentious race between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Ag. Ken Paxton.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton officially announced his bid for U.S. Senate last week and immediately began criticizing his incumbent opponent John Cornyn’s conservative record and allegiance to Trump.
“John Cornyn has been in Washington for over two decades, and he has turned his back on President Trump and the America First agenda time after time,” Paxton said.
Cornyn responded by attacking Paxton’s record as Attorney General.
“Ken Paxton is a fraud,” Cornyn’s campaign said in a social media post. “He talks tough on crime and then lets crooked progressive Lina Hidalgo off the hook. He says his impeachment trial was a sham but he didn’t contest the facts in legal filings, which will cost the state millions.”
Trump’s endorsement will likely be a key factor in the race which could be viewed as a battle between a Bush-era Republican (Cornyn) versus a Trump-era Republican (Paxton), Republican consultant Vinny Minchillo previously told WFAA.
In a recent statement to the press, Trump did not immediately choose sides.
“They’re both good men and, I don’t know, we don’t know who else is running but these two, Ken (and) John, they’re both friends of mine,” Trump said.
Other rumored candidates for the Senate seat include Congressman Wesley Hunt, R-Houston and Congressman Michael McCaul, WFAA previously reported.
Cornyn was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002 and is currently serving his fourth term. He sits on the Senate Finance, Judiciary, Intelligence, Foreign Relations, and Budget Committees.
Paxton was first elected as the 51st Attorney General of Texas in 2014 and was just re-elected to a third term as the state’s top law enforcement officer in 2022.