Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton at the 2024 AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona on December 21, 2024

Veteran Washington Post columnist George Will is among the Never Trump conservatives who believes that if far-right Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeats incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the state's 2026 GOP U.S. Senate primary, a Democrat could win a statewide race in the Lone Star State for the first time in many years.

Cornyn, the 84-year-old Will argues, would be extremely difficult for a Democrat to beat if he's the nominee. But according to Will, Paxton has so much baggage that former Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) might be able to go the distance in the general election if he's up against Paxton.

The Texas attorney general is competitive in GOP primary polls, but one thing he doesn't have is an endorsement from President Donald Trump.

In a blistering article published on October 29, Salon's Amanda Marcotte stresses that Paxton is going to embarrassing extremes in the hope of getting Trump's endorsement — including a frivolous anti-Tylenol lawsuit.

"In an unbelievably crowded field," Marcotte argues, "the title of 'Most Wretched Republican Bootlicker' is ultimately impossible to determine. But on Tuesday morning, (October 28), Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton made a strong case for himself when he filed a nuisance lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue, falsely accusing the companies of concealing a link between Tylenol and autism. The word 'baseless' doesn't begin to describe the value of the lawsuit. Both the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and American Academy of Pediatrics have affirmed there is no significant link between using this common painkiller during pregnancy and having an autistic child. On the contrary, there could be significant risks if women were to forgo a doctor's advice to use the drug for pain or fever."

Marcotte continues, "MAGA Republicans, especially Paxton, have a long history of loathing both science and women, so they have no conscientious objections to a lawsuit that hurts women in the name of lying about medicine. Still, at first glance, Paxton's move is surprising as political strategy."

The Salon journalist notes that when Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "blamed autism on pregnant women who take Tylenol," the "backlash" was "fierce."

"Even by MAGA standards," Marcotte writes, "Paxton has high levels of radiant misogyny, but it's confusing why he would want to touch this hot stove. The likeliest answer is also the most painfully stupid one: Paxton is beclowning himself in hopes of wooing Trump to endorse his primary challenge against incumbent GOP Sen. John Cornyn…. Many in the (Republican) Party have worried that if Paxton secures the nomination, he will lose to a Democrat. In response, Paxton has become comically thirsty for Trump's endorsement, signaling there's no limit to how low he will debase himself to get that tiny thumbs up."

Amanda Marcotte's full article for Salon is available at this link.