Washington Examiner columnist Salena Zito said President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for the Senate race was part of a strategy.
“I think Trump understood that there was just a wave of movement conservatives behind Paxton,” Zito said on the Hugh Hewitt Show Wednesday.
Paxton defeated four-term incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) in the Republican Senate primary runoff on Tuesday. Paxton garnered more than 60% of the vote when the Associated Press called the race, marking a shift in the GOP from establishment Republicans to more Trump-backed MAGA Republicans.
“When there is a movement, the old goes out, and the new comes in,” Zito said.
Cornyn is a long-serving GOP member who represents traditional conservative values. Trump even called Cornyn a “good man” in a Truth Social post last Wednesday.
Paxton and Cornyn had been vying for a Trump endorsement, as the two spent weeks running neck and neck in polling.
Cornyn even noticed Trump’s lack of comment regarding a candidate endorsement about a week before the race, saying, “I think that ship has finally sailed.” The next day, the president announced that Paxton was his pick for the Senate race.
Trump posted on Truth Social Wednesday, extending congratulations to Paxton on the win, and acknowledging Cornyn’s run.
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“Congratulations to Ken Paxton on such a tremendous win, and to John Cornyn for having run a strong and powerful race but, more importantly, having had a truly great career. John will remain my friend for a long time to come, as we both watch Ken become a fantastic, common sense Senator, one who is respected by all,” Trump said.
Zito said she struggles with the idea that Democratic Texas state Rep. James Talarico could win the November election over Paxton.
Talarico has been criticized for comments he made about being a vegan and that there are “six biological sexes,” not two.
“There’s something off there, I haven’t put my finger on it. I’m going to go down to Texas and figure out what it is,” Zito said.
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“We shall see what happens in November.”
The midterm elections will take place on Nov. 3.