Texas Sen. John Cornyn is among a group of Republicans traveling with Senate Majority Leader John Thune to the border Friday to tout the party’s border security and economic agenda — but it may not be enough for the embattled senator to win reelection.
Thune, who is leading the trip to McAllen, Texas, told the Daily Caller News Foundation in a recent interview that he is “all in” on reelecting Cornyn ahead of the Lone Star State’s March 3 primary. Cornyn, who has served in the Senate since 2002, is running in a brutal and costly three-way primary contest against Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Republican Texas Rep. Wesley Hunt. (RELATED: How Republicans Tricked Jasmine Crockett Into Running For Senate)
“He’s not only an incredibly effective senator for Texas, but he also is, in our view, the hands down most electable Republican in the state of Texas in the Senate race this year,” Thune said.
The majority leader, who is seeking to grow Senate Republicans’ 53-seat majority during November’s midterm elections, leads several outside spending groups that have spent tens of millions of dollars boosting Cornyn’s reelection campaign.
Thune has repeatedly lobbied President Donald Trump — who has said he likes all of the candidates — to endorse Cornyn. Those conversations have yet to prompt the president to intervene in the contest.
“As of right now, he’s [Trump is] not inclined to engage,” Thune told the DCNF. “But if he were, obviously it would make a huge difference.”
The race appears headed for a May run-off election with the three candidates expected to split the vote. A protracted primary battle could divert resources Republicans could spend on its offense plays in Georgia and Michigan and defend a GOP-held seat in North Carolina.
Paxton and Cornyn would be the two top vote-getters if the election were held today, according to Decision Desk HQ’s aggregate of independent and internal polling of the three-way primary ballot.
Paxton blasted Cornyn’s planned trip to the border in a statement Thursday, arguing the incumbent senator has undermined Trump on border security.
“Now, just a few months before his career ends in national embarrassment, he’s desperate to rewrite history,” Paxton said of his opponent. “Texans aren’t going to forget how Cornyn’s betrayed our country, and no last minute trip to the border to try and act tough is going to change that.”
The Cornyn campaign referred the DCNF to a statement from the senator highlighting his vote to “deliver on President Trump’s America First Agenda” by passing the tax and spending cut law in July.
Though Thune has been unable to prevent a bruising primary contest in Texas, the majority leader highlighted where he and Trump have worked together to clear the field in several battleground states.
The duo quickly endorsed former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Whatley to succeed Republican North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, who is retiring. Both Thune and Trump have also united around the Senate bids of former Republican Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers and Iowa Rep. Ashley Hinson.
Senate hopefuls Whatley and Rogers will participate in the border visit, per One Nation, a Thune-affiliated political organization sponsoring the trip.
“We just want to make sure we’ve got qualified, electable candidates in a general election,” Thune added.
Thune has thus far stayed out of crowded GOP primaries in Georgia and Kentucky.
In-cycle GOP senators, Jon Husted of Ohio, Ashley Moody of Florida, Pete Ricketts of Nebraska and Mike Rounds of South Dakota, are also among the group of Republicans visiting the border.
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 07: U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-SD), joined by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) (L) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), speaks at a press conference on border security at the U.S. Capitol on December 07, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The border trip also offers Republicans a reset opportunity to sell voters on Trump’s signature legislative accomplishment, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).
Many GOP lawmakers — including Thune — have begun to refer to the legislation as the “Working Families Tax Cuts Act” in an effort to emphasize the tax benefits within the law.
Republicans passed the tax and spending cut law over the summer, but lawmakers concede there has been a lag in crafting a compelling message to voters.
“We haven’t effectively told the story yet,” Thune told the DCNF, adding that Democrats got out in front of them in relentlessly attacking the bill. “We will, and now that we’re into the election season we have an opportunity to draw contrasts with Democrats.”
Trump’s signature budget law carved out $170 billion for border security and immigration enforcement. No Democrats supported the legislation, which included $75 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to ramp up hiring, and more than $46 billion to complete construction of the southern border wall.
The border-related funding also allocated $13.5 billion to reimburse border states for costs incurred dealing with former President Joe Biden’s lax immigration enforcement.
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) announced in December that the agency had released zero illegal migrants into the United States for the seventh consecutive month.
Republicans are also eager to rip Democrats for opposing the tax benefits within the budget law. Most of the tax changes went into effect on Jan. 1 and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is forecasting “gigantic” refund checks when Americans file taxes early this year.
“The argument for the Democrats is they were for a $4.5 trillion tax increase,” Thune said. “Republicans were against it.”
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