- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has received the support of the National Association for Gun Rights, an organization led by Never-Trump activist Dudley Brown
- Brown, who has described President Trump as “horrible” on Second Amendment issues and as a “NYC con man”, has said he has never supported Trump and “never will”
- While Paxton has touted his support from an organization hostile to President Trump, Senator John Cornyn has promoted his “99% pro-Trump” record in the Senate
In a social media post on Saturday, Texas Attorney General and United States Senate Candidate touted the support he received from the National Association for Gun Rights – an organization led by an activist who describes himself as “one of the biggest detractors of Trump in the conservative movement.”
“What a great day for a clay shoot. Thank you, [Texas Gun Rights] and [National Association for Gun Rights] for your endorsement and support of my campaign. It was great to see so many patriots,” wrote Paxton.
Paxton’s post included photographs of him at a fundraising event for Texas Gun Rights, the Texas state affiliate of the National Association for Gun Rights. In one of the photographs, Paxton is photographed receiving an oversized novelty check from the National Association for Gun Rights PAC alongside Texas Gun Rights President Chris McNutt and National Association for Gun Rights President Dudley Brown.
The check, which featured Brown’s signature, represented a $5,000 contribution from the National Association for Gun Rights PAC to Paxton’s Senate campaign against Senator John Cornyn. The $5,000 donation is the maximum amount that a federal candidate can receive from a political action committee.
Brown has been an outspoken critic of President Trump, whom he has described as “pretty damn bad on 2A issues”, “the KING of gaslighting”, a “horrible candidate” who is “horrible on 2A” and “horrible on spending”, a “NYC con man”, and a “poison that infects the GOP.”
A supporter of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ Presidential campaign during the 2024 Republican Primary, Brown has said on numerous occasions that he has never supported President Trump and “never will.” Brown has also described himself as “one of the biggest detractors of Trump in the conservative movement” and indicated that he wrote in the name of anti-Trump Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie instead of voting for President Trump against Kamala Harris.
Texas Gun Rights has a track record of opposing some of President Trump’s top allies in Texas politics. In a 2023 social media post, Texas Gun Rights accused Lt. Governor Dan Patrick – who served as Texas chair for President Trump’s campaigns – of “embracing Joe Biden’s gun control agenda.” The post also featured an image depicting Patrick and Biden physically embracing each other.
In addition to Brown’s longstanding opposition to President Trump, Brown and the National Association for Gun Rights have expressed strong support for Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie, who has solidified himself as President Trump’s most vocal Republican antagonist in Congress. In addition to endorsing Paxton, the National Association for Gun Rights PAC has also endorsed and donated to Massie, and Brown has described Massie as “the best member of Congress.”
President Trump, on the other hand, has made defeating Massie in the Republican Primary one of his top political priorities.
Despite welcoming the support of an organization that is hostile to President Trump, Paxton has attempted to portray Senator Cornyn as insufficiently supportive of President Trump. Cornyn has pushed back against those claims, citing his “99% pro-Trump” voting record in the Senate.
