Tuesday on CNN’s “News Central,” political commentator Jeff Flake claimed President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the U.S. Senate race put the seat in “jeopardy” for the Republican Party.
Host Brianna Keilar said, “In a race for the U.S. Senate. President Trump has endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over incumbent Senator John Cornyn. The endorsement is a searing blow to Cornyn, who boasts a 99% voting record with Trump. And we’re learning that some Republicans on the Hill are not happy about this. We’re joined now by former Republican Senator Jeff Flake. And, Senator, we just heard from John Thune. Clearly, he is among those very much supporting John Cornyn. He calls him a principled conservative and a very effective senator for the state of Texas. But we just heard Vice President Vance say that this decision about Paxton is a message to incumbent lawmakers that their jobs could be at risk if they fail to serve the people who sent you. How are you seeing this?”
Flake said, “Well, I think John Thune and other senators are right to be very concerned. You know, Republicans are going to face real headwinds, come November in the midterms. And, you know, they may still win Texas. All of this puts it in jeopardy. But they’ll have to spend a lot of money and a lot of time at it. And that takes resources and focus from other races they’re going to need to win. So yeah, Republicans all over, Washington are are really concerned today. And, this I don’t think it’s a surprise given that he dithered, you know, for so long after saying that he would endorse, John Cornyn. But but it’s bad news for Republicans.”
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