GOP Rep. Bacon: Trump's Endorsement of Ken Paxton was a 'Mistake'

Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) said that President Donald Trump’s decision to endorse Ken Paxton in the Texas primary for the Senate seat was a “mistake.”

Partial transcript as follows:

MARGARET BRENNAN: Before we get to national security, I want to ask you about politics and candidate quality. Last month, Texas Republicans chose to make Ken Paxton their Senate nominee, despite the fact, as Texas AG, he was impeached by the Republican-controlled House on multiple charges of abuse of office, including bribery. His wife is divorcing him on what she called biblical grounds because of adultery, and he was indicted in 2015 on securities fraud charges that were later dropped. Despite all this, the President backed him over sitting Senator John Cornyn, and so did Texas Republicans. For your party, does Trump’s favor carry more weight than character?

BACON: I think in many cases it does. His endorsement in a primary is often carries- carries the most weight. I think it was a mistake. I think this has hurt the president. A lot of senators feel very close to Senator Cornyn. He was a big fundraiser. He helped a lot of these Republicans get elected all over the country, so there’s a lot of loyalty to John Cornyn. In fact, I know him too, and I admire the guy. And now they’ve not- we’ve nominated a guy in Texas that is probably the most vulnerable in a general election, and it puts that seat up for grabs. So, it was- I don’t think it was a wise decision, and I would say- one other factor here is the Democrat nominee. I think he’s also pretty weak, though, in Texas. So, I think they both- both sides have nominated people that are vulnerable in general. But, John Cornyn could have won the seat easily, and now the Republicans will be spending a lot of money to hold it, and I think it was a mistake.

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