George W. Bush Appears at GOP Fundraiser That Snubs Trump-Backed Ken Paxton

Former President George W. Bush served as a “special guest” at a major Republican fundraising event on Monday, September 21, which notably excluded President Donald Trump-backed Texas Attorney General and Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton.

The event, hosted by Texas Sen. John Cornyn in Dallas, benefited Maintain the Majority, a joint fundraising committee supporting GOP Senate candidates in key battleground states. However, Paxton — a staunch Trump ally who defeated Cornyn in a bitter and expensive primary earlier this year — was completely left off the invitation list.

The gathering brought together old-guard establishment Republicans. Sen. Cornyn hosted, and former President Bush headlined the event to support nationwide candidates.

The PAC raised funds for Republican nominees defending or trying to flip seats across six states, such as Michele Tafoya (Minnesota), Susan Collins (Maine), Dan Sullivan (Alaska), Ashley Hinson (Iowa), Mike Rogers (Michigan), and candidates in Ohio and New Hampshire.

Despite being the Republican nominee in the host state of Texas, Paxton was completely bypassed.

The omission intensifies an ongoing feud between traditional Bush-aligned Republicans and the insurgent MAGA wing of the party. Paxton has multiple historical points of friction with the Bush family.

Paxton defeated Bush’s nephew George P. Bush in the 2022 Republican primary for Texas attorney general.

Paxton later ousted incumbent Sen. Cornyn in the spring 2026 primary to secure the GOP Senate nomination.

The fundraising snub comes at a sensitive moment in the Texas Senate race. While establishment Republicans are withholding funds, Paxton is locked in a competitive general election against the increasingly popular Democratic State Rep. James Talarico.

National Republican leaders previously warned Trump that if Paxton won the primary, Trump's political operation would need to heavily fund Paxton's general election campaign because of Paxton's extensive personal and political controversies.

Talarico has significantly outspent Paxton on the airwaves. To close the gap, Trump's MAGA Inc. war chest (which holds over $415 million) has had to step in, including by headlining a dedicated fundraiser for Paxton in Houston.

Despite Bush’s snub of Paxton, critics blasted the former president for fundraising for any Trump-aligned politicians.

Progressive critics claim that by raising money for a generic Senate PAC like Maintain the Majority, Bush is directly helping elect candidates who will ultimately fall in line with Trump’s agenda. Critics claim that even if Bush personally dislikes Trump, supporting Republican majorities implicitly enables the wider MAGA movement.

For "Never-Trump" Republicans and right-leaning moderates, Bush’s willingness to hit the campaign trail for modern GOP candidates is seen as a disappointment.

These critics believe establishment leaders should entirely withhold support from a party that has largely rejected traditional Reagan-Bush conservatism, rather than helping it win power.

However, following former senior Bush advisor Karl Rove's indication that he would cross party lines in Texas, national MAGA surrogates have continually blasted the old guard, stating, "The uniparty elites in Dallas are more comfortable backing establishment figures across the country than supporting the America First candidate who actually won the primary right in their backyard."