Fox News commentator Brit Hume warned on Wednesday that President Trump’s decision to back a Republican challenger in Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-Texas) reelection race could weaken the GOP’s grasp on this Senate seat.

Hume called the reasoning behind Trump’s endorsement of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in this contest “pretty flimsy on the president’s part.”

“I think that the seat is in some danger,” Hume told Fox anchor Bret Baier on Wednesday evening.

“Texas is still Texas. Paxton may yet win, but he has a ton of baggage, there is no doubt about that, and he doesn’t bring in all segments of the Republican base, so we’ll see,” he continued.

Cornyn and Paxton will compete in a runoff election on May 26, after neither candidate attained a majority of the vote in the state’s Republican primary race.

The winner of this contest will face off against the Democratic nominee, state Rep. James Talarico, in November.

“Talarico, he’s got some baggage too, but he’s a slick talker, impresses a lot of people, so he’s got a shot now that maybe he didn’t have if his opponent had been Cornyn,” Hume said.

In a Truth Social post announcing his endorsement of Paxton’s campaign, Trump called Cornyn a “good man,” but he noted that the senator was “very late” in supporting his 2024 presidential bid.

“Ken Paxton has gone through a lot, in many cases, very unfairly, but he is a Fighter, and knows how to WIN. Our Country needs Fighters, and also Loyalty to the Cause of Greatness,” the president wrote in the post.

Paxton has faced investigations into securities fraud and bribery allegations, and he agreed to pay restitution and perform community service to settle the fraud case. Former President Biden’s Justice Department decided not to prosecute Paxton over the bribery charges.

The Texas House voted to impeach him over these allegations, but he was acquitted by lawmakers in the state’s Senate.

Additionally, a joint investigation from Texas media outlets published on Tuesday found that prosecutors with the Texas attorney general’s office may have mishandled a child sex abuse case under Paxton’s leadership.

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.