Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) offered Republicans a suggestion on Tuesday on how to ensure a competitive Senate seat remains in GOP hands.
Fetterman contended that President Donald Trump and Republicans have the opportunity to “lock down” Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-TX) hotly contested seat by coming together to endorse the incumbent over two other leading GOP candidates looking to beat Cornyn in a three-way primary. Fetterman’s comments echo the viewpoint that, among the GOP field, Cornyn holds the most viable chance of beating a field of Democratic contenders eying a chance to flip the seat blue.
“For me, like for Texas, for example, Cornyn is a reasonable Republican, and now that would be money in the bank. But now I don’t know why politically — I’m not sure why the Republicans and the president wouldn’t sit on that and just lock down Texas,” Fetterman said during an interview on Fox Business Network’s Mornings with Maria.
Fetterman’s comments came hours after Trump told reporters he couldn’t endorse a GOP candidate in the race, saying it was too difficult to pick between Cornyn, Attorney General Ken Paxton, and Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX). Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) has also stayed neutral as the March primary inches closer, even as recent polling has not appeared favorable to Cornyn’s hopes of winning the March 3 primary outright, instead handing Paxton and Hunt an edge, according to surveys aggregated by the New York Times.
“They’ve all supported me. They’re all good, and you’re supposed to pick one. So, we’ll see what happens, but I support all three,” Trump said Monday evening. “I just haven’t made a decision on that race yet. It’s got a ways to go.”
The three Republicans have angled to portray themselves as the most pro-Trump candidates as they vie for Trump’s endorsement. The divisive three-way race could likely head to a May 27 runoff, which would only be averted if one of the contenders tops 50% of the vote in the primary next month.
In 2020, Cornyn won a fourth term in office by under 10 percentage points, marking the closest reelection battle of his career.
His latest bid has attracted millions in funding, with former Republican Gov. Rick Perry’s Lone Star Freedom Project promising Tuesday the group would spend “whatever we need” to keep Cornyn in office. Perry’s group has already spent nearly $18 million on the race, according to the Texas Tribune.
Whoever wins the March contest will likely face either Reps. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) or Democratic state Rep. James Talarico, whose recent interviews with The View and Stephen Colbert have drawn scrutiny due to the Federal Communications Commission’s equal-time rule, in the general election. The pair are the Democratic front-runners in the Senate race and have engaged in an intense rivalry ahead of the party’s primary.
