The Scoop
Rep. Ronny Jackson met with White House officials in recent days about Texas politics — including the state’s 2026 Senate race — according to two people familiar with the meeting.
The Republican congressman, a potential candidate for Texas’s already-ugly Senate GOP primary, discussed what he’s hearing about that race as well as the broader congressional map with White House officials, one of the people said.
The White House sought out the perspective of President Donald Trump’s former presidential physician as the Lone Star State suddenly becomes an epicenter of campaign activity, between the Senate battle and Trump’s push to redraw Texas’ House districts to add more GOP seats.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is currently running for reelection against state attorney general Ken Paxton. The more heated that Cornyn and Paxton’s clashes get, the more chatter there is about possible alternative candidates; Jackson and Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, are on that list.
Hunt has also met with White House aides this year.
Jackson is a close ally of Trump, who tried to install the Texan as his Veterans Affairs secretary during his first term. Blocked from that job after allegations of mismanagement dating to his time as White House physician, Jackson won election to the House in 2020.
Trump is staying neutral in the Senate primary as Cornyn and Paxton slug it out. Cornyn said in an interview this week that he thinks Trump could endorse in the race if the four-term incumbent closes the polling gap with Paxton, who is facing scrutiny for claiming multiple houses as his primary residence and infidelity allegations ahead of his impending divorce.
“We just have to do two things,” Cornyn told Semafor. “One is to remind people what I’ve done and my record of support for the president during his first and now second term. And, secondly, to remind people what a crook Ken Paxton is.”
It’s not clear if Jackson’s potential entry into the race was discussed at the meeting. Jackson’s spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.
Notable
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Trump isn’t letting past perceived transgressions stop him from endorsing lawmakers, Semafor reported this week: The president and his team are acutely aware of how important the midterms are, and he seems willing to support Republicans who have frustrated him in the past.
