Trump Blames Cornyn and Rove as Texas Senate Race Slips Away

With November 3rd midterms looking grim for Republicans, Donald Trump is getting his excuses ready — and he's pointing fingers at two prominent Texas Republicans. In a Truth Social post, Trump blamed Senator John Cornyn and GOP strategist Karl Rove for the potential loss of Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race, accusing them of doing everything possible to undermine the GOP nominee, without offering any evidence.

The irony, however, runs deep. Trump himself helped Paxton defeat Cornyn in the Republican primary with a last-minute endorsement, despite months of warnings from Senate GOP leaders — including campaign chair Tim Scott — that backing Paxton would put the seat at risk. Cornyn had voted with Trump nearly every time and endorsed him for president three times, but apparently his refusal to adopt complete political subservience cost him Trump's loyalty. Rove, meanwhile, had long documented Paxton's extensive ethical liabilities in public columns, and Trump appears unable to forgive him for being proven correct.

Paxton's vulnerabilities are real and self-inflicted. The Texas Attorney General was impeached by the Republican-controlled Texas House in 2023, and traditional non-MAGA Republicans are telling pollsters they may skip the Senate race entirely rather than vote for him. That reluctance has crippled Paxton's fundraising, forcing the party to pump hundreds of millions of dollars into Texas — resources that could otherwise shore up competitive Senate races elsewhere that may determine chamber control.

Democratic candidate James Talarico, described as a hard-left politician with a moderate presentation, has benefited from the Republican infighting. Trump is also road-testing other pre-emptive excuses for a potential Democratic wave: blaming Senate Majority Leader John Thune for not killing the filibuster to pass voting-rules legislation (despite there being fewer than 50 votes for that move), and blaming Ukraine's strikes on Russian energy infrastructure for high diesel prices, when analysts point to Middle East conflict as the primary driver. The editorial verdict is blunt — if Republicans suffer a rout, the blame starts at the top.