US President Donald Trump speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, on October 15, 2026.
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
President Donald Trump said Thursday that Texas incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn and conservative commentator Karl Rove should be held accountable if Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton loses to Democrat James Talarico in the Lone Star State.
Trump, who supported Paxton over Cornyn in the state’s Republican primary, accused the incumbent senator and Rove of “doing everything they can to make it difficult” in a race where many polls show Paxton trailing Talarico.
“If Ken Paxton loses, it will be because of weak and ineffective political hacks like John Cornyn and Karl Rove, who have ineffectively opposed me throughout my political career,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Cornyn’s office and Rove did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Trump’s post.
Trump’s preemptive finger-pointing comes as Texas, a reliably red state where a Democrat has not elected a senator since 1988, is one of the most competitive battleground states in the 2026 midterm cycle.
This is breaking news. Please refresh to check for updates.
