A conservative kingmaker appears to be sitting idly by as Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) continues to battle MAGA firebrand Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, in the state’s heated primary runoff, a sign that President Donald Trump’s signature movement is on the fritz, according to a new report.
Leonard Leo has a deep history within Republican politics and the Trump administration. Leo built the Federalist Society into the conservative legal movement’s premier organization, which has sent Trump all three of his Supreme Court nominees. Leo also has a roughly $1 billion fund available to support Republican candidates across the country, but has chosen to sit on the sidelines as Paxton and Cornyn compete for a Senate seat, the Washington Examiner reported.
Leo’s decision to stand back and stand by during the primary race reveals just how bad Leo’s relationship has gotten with Paxton and the broader MAGA populist movement, according to the report. Leo and Paxton have combined efforts to file lawsuits against Planned Parenthood, OSHA’s multi-state COVID-19 mandates, and investment firms that allegedly took advantage of the coal market.
“That relationship is now effectively over,” the Examiner reported.
Instead, Leo seems content investing in other Republicans like Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). Leo recently donated $1 million to a Super PAC that supports Collins in her reelection bid. He has also given $500,000 to an organization that supports more middle-of-the-road Republicans like Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) and Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI).
Leo’s decision to sit out of the Texas primary comes at a time when Paxton and Cornyn appear to be neck-and-neck heading into the primary election later this month. Recent polling has both men trailing Democratic candidate James Talarico by about seven or eight points, according to a Courthouse News report.
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