John Thune Calls on Trump to Back Ken Paxton in Texas Senate Race

With members of Congress shifting their focus to the upcoming midterms, everyone’s eyes are on the toss-up Senate race in Texas, and now Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-ND) is calling on President Donald Trump for help.

In an interview with Fox News earlier this week, Sen. Thune said he hopes the president backs Acting Attorney General Ken Paxton (R-TX), who defeated Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) in the Republican primary runoff in May.

"I'm hoping the White House will become engaged,” Sen. Thune said. “Texas is an incredibly expensive state, and obviously one that we need. We've got to hold."

Democrats will need to reclaim four Senate seats to gain a majority in the chamber, including Texas.

According to recent polling data, James Talarico (D-TX) is leading Paxton by three points. But Republicans like Sen. Thune will continue to rally behind Paxton and other Republican candidates facing tight races in the coming months, with the first-ever Republican midterm convention to be held in Dallas, Texas, next week.

Sen. Thune said if his party hopes to keep its majority in the Senate, everyone will have to be “all in.”

“If we're going to keep the United States Senate, we're going to keep a majority with Texas,” he said. “That is, we absolutely have to win that race, so everybody's all in for Ken Paxton.”

Sen. Thune said that, due to its size, Texas is an “expensive state.” Recent reporting indicates Paxton has raised approximately $9 million. Talarico has raised about $68 million in non-PAC-affiliated funds.

As of July, Trump’s super PAC, MAGA Inc., has over $400 million on hand, according to its most recent filing with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

"Because Texas is such an expensive state, we're going to need the president and his team to be engaged there and to be putting resources into that state," Sen. Thune said.