Senate Leader John Thune and other national Republicans rallying for Paxton at fundraiser this month
By Renzo Downey, The Texas Tribune
July 7, 2026
This article was adapted from our premium politics newsletter, The Blast, which delivers exclusive reporting, nonpartisan analysis and the first word on political moves across the state. Subscribe today.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune will be a special guest at an upcoming fundraiser for Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The Blast has confirmed Axios’ reporting that Thune, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Tim Scott, future Texas senior Sen. Ted Cruz and more than a dozen other senators will be special guests at the July 22 event, rallying around their new man in Texas after national Republicans dug deep in their failed bid to stop Paxton from ousting U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.
An invite, obtained by The Blast, lists AxAdvocacy and former U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, as part of the host committee in D.C., with special guests including Sens. Katie Britt of Alabama, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Mike Lee of Utah, Rick Scott of Florida and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama.
Cornyn and his allies spent upward of $90 million defending his incumbency. Those allies included One Nation, a PAC affiliated with Senate leadership that spent $11 million supporting Cornyn.
The logic behind the massive spending was that if Cornyn could get past the primary, Republicans could save money and have a better shot at retaining the seat in the long run. With Paxton’s perceived weakness in the electoral and fundraising departments, national Republicans would have to spend more defending Paxton in November, the logic continued.
Now that the general election matchup is set, Paxton is the fundraising underdog against Democratic state Rep. James Talarico. Not only were their fears realized, but Thune and crew will have to work hard to undo the attacks they ran against Paxton, like calling him incompetent and dinging him for his alleged affairs. That starts with a bit of fundraising.
On Wednesday, the Paxton campaign and the NRSC set up a joint fundraising committee called Paxton Victory. Sharing a joint fundraising committee with their candidates is a standard practice, particularly for Republicans, that streamlines the process for donors and spreads out a campaign’s operating costs.
Meanwhile, Democratic supporters bail from Graham Platner after Politico reported on a sexual assault allegation against the Maine Senate nominee. A blowup over the Maine race, which was shaping up to be the marquee Senate race this cycle, could have trickle-down effects in Texas, Austin personal injury attorney Adam Loewy reasons.
“If Graham Platner does in fact drop out, [Talarico] is gonna raise about $200,000,000,” he posted on social media. “All the money will shift to Texas. It will be the premier race.”
This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.