Former President George W. Bush is helping fundraise for Republicans, but not the one who defeated his nephew, George P. Bush, in the 2022 Republican primary for Texas attorney general.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, held a fundraiser Monday night for Maintain the Majority with the former president as a “special guest,” The New York Times reported. The event did not include GOP Senate candidate and current Texas AG Ken Paxton, who defeated Cornyn in this year’s primary.
Maintain the Majority is a PAC that lists Cornyn along with Sens. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska; Jon Husted, R-Ohio, Susan Collins, R-Maine; Michigan Sen.-nominee Mike Rogers, New Hampshire Sen.-nominee John E. Sununu; and Iowa Sen.-nominee Ashley Hinson as joint fund participants, Minnesota Republican Sen.-nominee Michele Tafoya was a late addition to the Monday night event, according to the Times.
Notably absent on that list are Paxton, Republican Georgia Sen.-nominee Mike Collins and Republican North Carolina Sen.-nominee Michael Whatley, a trio of Senate candidates closely tied to Trump’s political orbit.
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Bush and Cornyn have long had a complicated relationship with President Donald Trump and his favored candidates, like Paxton.
Karl Rove, a former senior presidential advisor to Bush, recently declared he would vote for a Texas Democrat, too.
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“Early voting in Texas starts Monday, October 19, 2026 (28 days from today, September 21),” a Cornyn X post on Monday morning read, notably leaving out a mention of Paxton. “It runs through Friday, October 30. The 2026 midterms (Election Day) are Tuesday, November 3, 2026 — 43 days from today.”
While the PAC funds might not include Paxton, Trump’s own midterm campaign war chest at MAGA Inc. — now under the watchful eye of former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt — has more than $415 million cash on hand, according to the latest FEC filing reported Sunday.
Michigan, Iowa, Texas, Ohio, Maine and Alaska are all rated toss-ups in the latest Fox News Power Rankings in the race to hold the Republican’s slim 53-47 Senate majority.
Democrats are looking at flipping seats against Collins, Husted, Sullivan, Hinson in Iowa, Whatley in North Carolina and Paxton in Texas. Republicans are eyeing potential pickups in Michigan, New Hampshire and Georgia.
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While midterms are historically unfavorable to the political party seated in the White House, Republicans holding the Senate could help tamp down Democrat momentum in Trump’s final two years in office if the slim 218-214 Republican House majority is lost.
While Cornyn’s establishment Republican coffers might not be made available to the man who ousted him in the primary, Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters has been confident that Texas’ Senate seat will remain in the GOP’s hands.
“You got to remember Ken Paxton won this state a couple of times in the general – he won a primary against a strong incumbent that’s been there for a long time by a couple hundred thousand votes,” Gruters told Fox News Digital last month.
“People want this race to be the biggest race in the country, but it really won’t be because, at the end of the day, Paxton has proven time and time again that he’s a winner; he’s a winner in this state. Texas is ruby red,” Gruters said. “Texas is a hardcore Republican state. They’re going to send up a MAGA warrior because we have a lot of work to do, including passing the Save America Act.”
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While Texas is seeing California liberals flock to the state, Gruters predicted Paxton’s statewide campaign strength is going to hold against Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico.
“Texas is a massive state, a lot resources from California are pouring in because these California liberals like Talafreako, but I don’t think it’s going to help him at the end of the day,” Gruters added. “Paxton is going to win this race.”
