Scoop: Pro-Paxton group courts Trump with anti-Cornyn ad

A group backing Texas Sen. John Cornyn's 2026 primary opponent is out with its first TV ad — but it's not airing in Texas. Instead, it's airing in Palm Beach, Fla., where it's aimed at an audience of one: President Trump.Why it matters: The strategy behind the ad shows the battle for Trump's coveted endorsement has already begun between Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Cornyn.It's expected to be one of most expensive and bitterly contested Senate races next year, and has led Senate GOP leaders to close ranks behind Cornyn, a prolific fundraiser. Zoom in: Preserving Texas, the group backing Paxton, will air the ad over the weekend on Trump-friendly Fox News, Newsmax and the Golf Channel in Palm Beach, home to Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.The ad assails Cornyn for backing a bipartisan gun safety bill in June 2022, and highlights Trump's ensuing criticism of Cornyn as a "RINO," or Republican In Name Only. "As usual, President Trump was right," the ad says.Preserving Texas is spending about $60,000 to air the ad over two days, according to a person familiar with the buy.Zoom out: Cornyn, 73, is a four-term senator and former Texas Supreme Court justice whom Trump has criticized for not going along with Trump's claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him. But recently Cornyn has taken steps to show he's aligned with Trump's MAGA movement — including by posting a picture of himself reading Trump's "The Art of the Deal."Those close to the senator say he has smoothed over past tensions with Trump.Paxton, 62, is a longtime Trump ally and MAGA loyalist. He worked to overturn Trump's 2020 election loss and attended Trump's 2024 hush money trial in New York to show solidarity with him.Paxton is a controversial figure in Texas politics. He was indicted in 2015 on security fraud charges, which were dropped later. He also was impeached by the state House of Representatives in 2023 on bribery and corruption charges, but was acquitted by the state Senate.The intrigue: Trump is a cable news junkie, and Republican candidates and interest groups are known to run ads in South Florida with an eye toward influencing him.In 2020, Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie aired a commercial in Palm Beach in which he called his primary opponent a "Trump hater."The other side: "Corrupt Ken Paxton ordered up another mediocre campaign video that predictably lies about Senator Cornyn's long career of strongly supporting Second Amendment Rights," a Cornyn spokesperson told Axios. "As an avid hunter himself, Senator Cornyn supports the constitutional right to carry and always has."

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