Former President George W. Bush is once again raising money for Republican candidates, but notably not for the Trump-aligned Texas attorney general who toppled his own nephew in a bitter primary fight.
According to Fox News, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, hosted a Monday night fundraiser for the political action committee Maintain the Majority, featuring Bush as a "special guest." The event, reported by The New York Times, conspicuously did not include Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, now the GOP Senate nominee after defeating Cornyn in this years Republican primary.
Maintain the Majority lists Cornyn alongside Sens. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, as well as Ohios Jon Husted, Michigan Senate nominee Mike Rogers, New Hampshire Senate nominee John E. Sununu and Iowa Senate nominee Ashley Hinson as joint fundraising participants. Minnesota Republican Senate nominee Michele Tafoya was added late to the Monday night program, according to the Times, underscoring the PACs focus on establishment-aligned contenders in key battlegrounds.
Missing from that roster are Paxton, North Carolina Senate nominee Mike Collins and North Carolina Senate nominee Michael Whatley, three candidates closely associated with President Donald Trumps populist movement. Their exclusion highlights the ongoing rift between the partys traditional donor class and the ascendant MAGA wing that has driven recent grassroots energy and turnout.
Bush and Cornyn have long maintained a strained and often uneasy relationship with Trump and his preferred candidates, including Paxton. That tension has been amplified by the involvement of Bush-world figures such as Karl Rove, who recently went so far as to signal support for a Democrat in Texas, a move that infuriated many conservative activists.
Cornyns own messaging has reflected this establishment distance from Paxton, even as both men appear on the same ballot line. "Early voting in Texas starts Monday, October 19, 2026 (28 days from today, September 21)," a Cornyn X post on Monday morning read, notably leaving out a mention of Paxton. "It runs through Friday, October 30. The 2026 midterms (Election Day) are Tuesday, November 3, 2026 43 days from today."
While Maintain the Majoritys funds may bypass Paxton, Trumps political machine is anything but cash-starved heading into the midterms. His MAGA Inc. super PAC, now overseen by former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, reported more than $415 million cash on hand in its latest FEC filing released Sunday, giving the president enormous capacity to bolster his preferred Senate candidates.
The stakes could hardly be higher, with Michigan, Iowa, Texas, Ohio, Maine and Alaska all rated toss-ups in the latest Fox News Power Rankings as Republicans fight to defend a narrow 53-47 Senate majority. Democrats are targeting seats held or sought by Collins in Maine, Husted in Ohio, Sullivan in Alaska, Hinson in Iowa, Whatley in North Carolina and Paxton in Texas, hoping to ride national media narratives and progressive money into traditionally red or swing territory.
Republicans, for their part, see opportunities to expand their margin in states such as Michigan, New Hampshire and Georgia, where dissatisfaction with Biden-era policies on the economy, the border and crime remains high. Historically, midterm elections are unfavorable to the party controlling the White House, and conservatives are counting on that pattern to blunt Democrat ambitions and restrain the leftward policy push in Washington.
If Republicans were to lose their slim 218-214 House majority, a GOP-controlled Senate would become the last institutional check on Democrat overreach in what could be Trumps final two years in office. Judicial confirmations, executive appointments and legislative roadblocks would all hinge on whether Republicans can hold or grow their Senate edge, making every contested race a test of the partys internal alignment between its establishment and MAGA factions.
Despite the cold shoulder from Cornyns donor network, Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters has expressed strong confidence that Texas will remain firmly in GOP hands. "You got to remember Ken Paxton won this state a couple of times in the general he won a primary against a strong incumbent that's been there for a long time by a couple hundred thousand votes," Gruters told Fox News Digital last month, emphasizing Paxtons proven appeal with conservative voters.
Gruters dismissed efforts to cast the Texas contest as a Democratic pickup opportunity, arguing that the political fundamentals still overwhelmingly favor Republicans. "People want this race to be the biggest race in the country, but it really won't be because, at the end of the day, Paxton has proven time and time again that he's a winner; he's a winner in this state. Texas is ruby red," Gruters said. "Texas is a hardcore Republican state. They're going to send up a MAGA warrior because we have a lot of work to do, including passing the Save America Act."
Even as Texas absorbs an influx of residents and money from deep-blue California, conservatives remain confident that the states center of gravity is still on the right. "Texas is a massive state, a lot resources from California are pouring in because these California liberals like Talafreako, but I don't think it's going to help him at the end of the day," Gruters added, using a mocking nickname for Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico. "Paxton is going to win this race."
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