US Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina publicly criticized President Trump for backing Ken Paxton over incumbent John Cornyn in the Texas Senate Republican primary. Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union, Tillis characterized the president’s decision as a “colossal mistake” and an “unforced error” that has placed the party’s Senate seat at risk in the state.
Tillis praised Cornyn as “a great member of the US Senate” and suggested that Republican campaign spending in Texas would not need to reach “tens or hundreds of millions of dollars” had the incumbent won the primary. Paxton defeated Cornyn in the May primary following Trump’s endorsement and will face Democratic candidate James Talarico, a pastor and state legislator, in the general election on 3 November.
Trump endorsed Paxton by highlighting the Texas attorney general’s loyalty to the Make America Great Again movement, while previously criticizing Cornyn for saying during the 2024 presidential campaign that Republicans should move on from Trump. In a social media post before the primary, Trump said Cornyn had been “VERY disloyal” and urged Texas voters to “REMEMBER.”
Paxton has faced multiple legal and personal challenges, including impeachment in 2023 on corruption accusations, later acquittal in a state Senate trial, an indictment on felony securities fraud charges that was dismissed under a 2024 pretrial diversion agreement, and a divorce filing by his wife in July 2025 citing adultery. Tillis is among a small group of Republicans who have regularly broken with Trump publicly, having previously defended NATO and called for immigration-related leadership changes.
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