Karl Rove Warns Trump He May ‘Pay the Price’ for Ken Paxton Endorsement: ‘His Record in General Elections Isn’t So Good’

LEFT: Karl Rove (Screenshot) RIGHT: Donald Trump (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Legendary GOP operative Karl Rove warned President Donald Trump that he may “pay the price” for endorsing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) over incumbent Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) in the Lone Star’s Republican primary.

Paxton easily prevailed over Cornyn on Tuesday, but while Rove acknowledged the power Trump continues to wield within his party, he also submitted that “every important action in politics can cause adverse consequences.”

“The Texas GOP ticket will be led by a candidate who ran behind the rest of the statewide Republican ticket in his last two campaigns. He trailed all seven statewide GOP candidates in 2018 by an average of about 177,000 votes and all six in 2022 by an average of 154,000. That was all before most of the scandals surrounding Mr. Paxton became public and before the Republican-run Texas House impeached him in 2023,” noted Rove, who observed that both Paxton and his fellow Republicans would have to answer questions about the “allegations of corruption, bribery, obstruction, securities fraud, multiple mistresses and incompetent handling of sex-trafficking cases” hanging over him.

Rove went on to call Paxton a “terrible fundraiser” whose vulnerability “will suck money from other crucial races around the country,” as well as to suggest that Trump’s decision to shiv Cornyn may cause “some congressional Republicans could reconsider their relationship with Mr. Trump.”

“Many will make their public tributes to the president more frequent and effusive, hoping to avoid Mr. Cornyn’s fate. But others may decide loyalty to Mr. Trump is a one-way street and act accordingly,” he wrote.

“While the president’s endorsement still settles primaries, his record in general elections isn’t so good. In the 2021 runoffs for Georgia’s Senate seats, he discouraged supporters from turning out. Then in 2022, he endorsed subpar Senate candidates in Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania. Democrats won all five of these contests. If Republicans had won, they might have a 57-43 majority today,” concluded Rove. “Mr. Cornyn deserved better. He ably and honorably served his state and country, is widely respected by colleagues, and was loyal to the president’s agenda. The president and the party didn’t repay his loyalty, and they could pay a price for that in November.”

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