Spurned by Trump, these outgoing Republicans aren’t helping their potential successors

Spurned by Trump, these outgoing Republicans aren’t helping their potential successors - POLITICO

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Spurned by Trump, these outgoing Republicans aren’t helping their potential successors

They were snubbed on their way out of office. Their revenge is indifference.

!Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) departs a Senate Republican Conference luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on Aug. 5, 2026.

*Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) departs a Senate Republican Conference luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on Aug. 5, 2026. | Francis Chung/POLITICO*

By Alec Hernandez, Andrew Howard, Jordain Carney and Erin Doherty

10/26/2026 4:45 AM EDT

Republicans spurned by President Donald Trump aren’t interested in rescuing their would-be replacements.

Instead, a growing number of retiring or ousted GOP incumbents from Nevada to North Carolina are sitting those races out, and in some cases, openly bucking their own party.

Outgoing Sen. John Cornyn has raised money for various Republican Senate candidates — just not for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who ousted him in the primary with support from Trump. He’s been vocal for months about what he sees as Paxton’s vulnerabilities and how Democrats could flip Texas blue for the first time in decades.

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis — who has frequently criticized some of Trump’s Cabinet and broken with the White House on policy — has played little role in the campaign of former RNC Chair Michael Whatley, Trump’s hand-picked Senate candidate. The distance between the two Republicans is particularly notable as Whatley struggles to close the gap against Democrat Roy Cooper.

* Texas
* North Carolina
* 2026 Elections
* Donald Trump
* John Cornyn
* Mark Amodei
* Thom Tillis

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