Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) shared the fable of the frog and the scorpion on social media following President Donald Trump's decision to endorse state Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Texas GOP Senate primary. Paxton cruised to victory Tuesday, sinking Cornyn's reelection bid after Trump threw his weight behind the challenger.
The fable—where a scorpion stings a frog mid-river, drowning them both—was widely interpreted as a critique of Trump's political self-interest. Cornyn had touted his record of voting with Trump 99.3 percent of the time, but the endorsement from Trump shifted the race decisively against the incumbent.
Paxton's victory underscores the deepening rift between establishment Republicans and Trump-aligned populists. Cornyn, a veteran Senate GOP strategist, had long navigated party dynamics but ultimately fell to a candidate who embraced Trump's endorsement. The primary outcome signals that Trump's influence remains dominant in shaping Republican primaries.
Political analysts point to the result as a marker of electoral consequences for Republicans who fail to secure Trump's backing, no matter their loyalty record. The race also highlighted how internal party fractures could affect GOP cohesion ahead of the general election.