Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) suggested he will be skipping a midterm convention in September that amounts to a pep rally for his successful primary rival, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
“I may have a conflict,” Cornyn said wryly when asked if he would travel to the event, to be held for all GOP Senate nominees running for election this fall. The event is being hosted in Cornyn’s home state of Texas, making his deflection a sign of further enmity between the two men.
When asked if his comment was a “no,” Cornyn reiterated that he “may have a conflict” when the Republican National Committee hosts the confab in Dallas on Sept. 9 and 10.
Cornyn, a four-term senator who was unseated in Texas’s May primary, has previously declined to campaign for Paxton and maintains that his nomination puts the Texas Senate seat further into play for Democrats.
He has, however, said that he will vote for Paxton in November despite the cloud of ethics scandals surrounding his campaign. Paxton was impeached by the Texas House on corruption charges alleging bribery and obstruction of justice in 2023. The state Senate later acquitted Paxton of those charges.
Cornyn is one of two GOP incumbents ousted this year in the Senate, and both faced challengers backed by President Donald Trump. The president’s endorsement of Paxton, in particular, enraged Senate Republicans who had poured tens of millions of dollars into supporting Cornyn.
Cornyn, a former member of leadership, has since become more of a Senate wild card and tends to speak more freely, although he’s so far toed the party line in his final months as a senator.
BATTLEGROUND HOUSE GOP CANDIDATES AREN’T RUNNING AWAY FROM KEN PAXTON IN TEXAS
The choice of Dallas for the midterm convention, a riff on the multiday events that take place in presidential election years, is notable given past Democratic attempts to flip Texas, which is ordinarily a red state.
Polls currently show a tied race against Democratic state Rep. James Talarico with Paxton as the nominee.
