Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he can win the Republican Senate primary even without President Donald Trump’s endorsement.
‘He makes his own decisions,’ Paxton told Fox News Digital. ‘I’m perfectly fine right now. We’re going to win this election either way. And I’m happy with where we’re at, and you’re going to see next Tuesday that we’re going to come out in front.’
Paxton, who was invited by Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, to attend Trump’s State of the Union address, is one of seven challengers vying to unseat longtime Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who is running for a fifth term in the upper chamber.
Early voting has already begun in the Lone Star State, and primary election day is March 3.
Even without a coveted nod from the president, Paxton acknowledged that cutting through the densely packed field would be difficult without the race going to a runoff, but not impossible.
‘It’s hard to win outright, but you know anything’s possible,’ Paxton said. ‘If anybody’s going to do it, it is going to be me.’
Much of the attention has been paid to the three-way fight between Paxton, Cornyn and Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas — a brawl that Trump has chosen to keep at arm’s length. He told reporters last week that he supports all three.
Cornyn is Paxton’s primary target in the crowded field. The two have engaged in a mudslinging back-and-forth on the road and in ads, dumping millions into toppling one another.
When asked about Cornyn’s attacks against him, Paxton said, ‘He’s not a polite man.’
Paxton accused the lawmaker of being ineffective during his 24-year run in the Senate and dubbed him ‘Fake John Cornyn,’ accusing him of selling voters one thing on the trail and doing another in office.
‘He’s been in office since I was in college, and I’m 63,’ Paxton said. ‘And he’s been up here for 24 years. And I don’t care what he says. He’s a deceptive guy, a misleading guy. You know why? Because he doesn’t have a single thing to run on.’
Cornyn wondered if Paxton had ‘been sleeping under a rock somewhere’ when asked about his opponent’s challenges to his record.
‘My Senate office is generally recognized as the most effective office in the Senate, and that’s because we produced important legislation to the state, for the state and for the nation,’ Cornyn told Fox News Digital. ‘And the fact he’s unaware of it just does not speak well to his intelligence or his knowledge.’
Despite Paxton’s confidence that the race would be decided next week, Cornyn believed there would be a runoff between the two.
‘We’ll be rid of him after May 26,’ Cornyn said.