Cornyn spent more than a year trying to demonstrate alignment with Trump and Texas Republicans. He promoted Trump by posting a photo reading “The Art of the Deal,” proposing legislation to rename an interstate in Trump’s honor, and reversing his long-held support for the filibuster to advance voting restrictions. Despite these efforts, he lost his primary by double digits to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whom Trump endorsed as a “true MAGA Warrior.” Trump publicly criticized Cornyn as “VERY disloyal.” Trump’s intervention followed a pattern of backing challengers in other states as retaliation against incumbents who broke with his agenda.
"Cornyn posted a photo of himself reading Trump's "The Art of the Deal." He proposed legislation to rename a stretch of interstate in Trump's honor. Perhaps most glaringly, the Senate institutionalist who long supported the filibuster reversed his position in a failed effort to advance voting restrictions that are a priority for the president."
"None of it worked. On Tuesday, Cornyn became the latest in a line of Republicans who lost their primaries after falling out of favor with a president with little tolerance for dissent and a seemingly insatiable appetite for retribution. The four-term senator lost by double digits to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who Trump endorsed last week as "a true MAGA Warrior.""
"Cornyn, on the other hand, "was VERY disloyal to me," Trump wrote on social media. Trump's intervention in the Texas runoff came after weeks of successfully backing primary challengers in Indiana, Louisiana and Kentucky as revenge against incumbents who broke with his agenda."
"His campaign began running an advertisement last summer - part of an astounding nearly-$100-million air war by the senator and allied groups - with Cornyn looking into the camera and saying, "I voted with President Trump 99% of the time.""
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