Crockett Says John Cornyn Is a “Real Republican” Pretending to Be MAGA
Last summer, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) said Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) is “a real Republican” who is trying to pretend he’s a MAGA Republican in order to keep his seat.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), who later lost the Democratic primary for James Talarico’s Cornyn seat this Tuesday, declared the following during a television appearance in August:
Now listen, I’m about to reveal a secret to all of MSNBC. Actually, I don’t hate Senator Cornyn at all. And right now what we have is a senator who is actually a real Republican who is doing everything he can to make it look like he’s a MAGA Republican so he can get through his primaries.
But Senator Cornyn, that’s not him. This is someone who served on the Texas State Supreme Court. He’s someone who generally works in a very bipartisan way, unlike Senator Cruz.
This is someone who is literally doing everything he can to hope to get some of that Maga base. And so Senator Cornyn knows that the FBI cannot, and will not, get involved in a small civil situation that has been approved by the speaker of the Texas House, but the MAGA base won’t know that.
Crockett’s remarks have resurfaced as Cornyn is in the midst of the Republican primary runoff. against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Neither candidate received a majority in the March 3 Republican primary, sending the race to a May 26 runoff.
Cornyn received about 42 percent of the vote, narrowly edging out Paxton, who received about 41 percent. Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) finished third with about 14 percent of the vote, leaving hundreds of thousands of voters on the line in the runoff.
Cornyn and his allies spent tens of millions of dollars supporting the incumbent senator and attacking his opponents, helping make the Texas primary the most expensive Senate primary in history. Estimates show spending of about $69 million to $71 million on Cornyn’s behalf, compared to about $4 million spent supporting Paxton.
Cornyn’s political record became a topic of debate during the campaign. Previous comments from the senator include telling him that Republicans “need someone as an alternative” to President Donald Trump and arguing that Trump might have trouble winning the general election. Cornyn also defended legal action against Trump, saying in response to special counsel Jack Smith’s document withholding filing that Trump had “created a circumstance for himself” and that the matter was “very, very serious.” Cornyn has also criticized aspects of Trump’s agenda in the past, including calling the idea of a border wall “naive” and supporting bipartisan gun control legislation that President Joe Biden called “the most important gun legislation” in decades.
Alex Latcham, executive director of the Senate Leadership Fund (SLF), a super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) who supported Cornyn, issued a very clear statement after leading representative attacker Wesley Hunt after his third place finish.
“Congratulations to Wesley Hunt for his abysmal third place finish in the Texas Republican primary,” Latcham remarked. “Instead of fighting for President Trump and conservative priorities, Wesley embarked on a career-ending vanity tour without any substance or political reasoning. While Wesley’s amateur consultants got rich off his foolish campaign, Republican voters are now forced to endure an even longer primary runoff election.”
The statement angered many Texans and conservatives nationwide, as Hunt received nearly 290,000 votes in the primary — more than 11 times the roughly 25,000-vote margin between Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton — leaving his supporters in position to play a significant role in the May 26 runoff.
President Donald Trump has not yet approved in the runoff, but said he plans to make a decision soon, indicating he wants the SAVE America Act — legislation requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote — to be on his desk before issuing an endorsement.
Paxton linked his position in the race to the legislation. In an article on X, Paxton wrote“The Save America Act is the most important bill the U.S. Senate will ever pass, and I am committed to helping President Trump do it. I would consider withdrawing from this race if Senate leaders agree to lift the filibuster and pass the SAVE America Act.”
He also took aim at Cornyn over the matter, writing, “John Cornyn is a coward who refused to support abolishing the filibuster to pass this bill,” and adding that “fake news journalists and the establishment are trying to destroy me with disinformation.”
Trump has commented on the two candidates while refusing their support during the second round. After the primary results, Trump described Cornyn as “a very underrated person,” noting that he was expected to lose by a wide margin but instead performed well. At the same time, Trump highlighted Paxton’s support for the SAVE Act and expressed frustration that the legislation has not advanced in the Senate, saying he was “not happy that it’s not moving” and that he had “expressed that to everyone.”
