Republican says Trump’s support of Ken Paxton in Texas primary was ‘colossal mistake’

Thom Tillis says Trump’s decision to back Paxton over John Cornyn has put the Senate seat at risk for Republicans

US senator Thom Tillis on Sunday criticized Donald Trump, his fellow Republican, for the president’s support of Ken Paxton over incumbent John Cornyn in the Texas Senate Republican primary.

“He made a colossal mistake,” Tillis, a frequent Trump critic from North Carolina, said during an interview on CNN’s State of the Union in reference to the president’s support of Paxton who defeated Cornyn in the May primary.

“John Cornyn’s a great member of the US Senate. Paxton has his challenges,” the retiring Tillis added. “We would not be spending tens or hundreds of millions of dollars in Texas if Cornyn had won.”

Tillis pointed to the president’s involvement in the contest and described Trump’s decision to back Paxton instead of Cornyn as an “unforced error” that has put the Senate seat at risk for the GOP.