As Senate Majority Leader John Thune and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Tim Scott ramp up public pressure on Donald Trump to back Texas Sen. John Cornyn for re-election, a groundswell of pro-gun grassroots opposition is making it clear: Cornyn doesn’t deserve it.
Leading the charge is Texas Gun Rights, which recently issued an open letter urging Trump not to endorse Cornyn in the looming 2026 Senate primary.
The letter, already signed by thousands of pro-gun Texans and circulating virally across social media with tens of thousands of organic impressions, warns that endorsing Cornyn would betray the very gun owners who helped fuel Trump’s political comeback.
When asked recently by reporters about endorsing in the Texas Senate race, Trump worryingly remarked that both Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are “good friends” and that he would be “weighing in at the appropriate time.”
But TXGR President Chris McNutt and affiliate National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR) are making the case that Cornyn’s long record of anti-gun betrayals makes him unworthy of Trump’s support.
“Gun owners were pivotal in the 2024 election for Donald Trump,” McNutt stated. “We respectfully ask him to remember who stood with him—and who stood against our rights—when it mattered most.”
Cornyn’s Record: A Laundry List of Anti-Gun Betrayals
At the heart of TXGR and NAGR’s objection is Cornyn’s role as the chief architect of bipartisan gun control, most notably:
2017 “Fix NICS” Act: Cornyn spearheaded legislation that flooded the federal prohibited persons database with millions of records—many from veterans and others denied due process—expanding the scope of gun bans without judicial oversight.
2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA): Dubbed by gun rights groups as the “Biden-Cornyn Gun Control Bill,” this legislation was hailed by President Joe Biden as the biggest gun control win in 30 years. It:
- Incentivized state-level red flag laws, allowing gun confiscation without criminal charges or convictions.
- Funded ATF regulatory overreach, including the “dealer in firearms” rule that gun rights advocates argue is a backdoor to universal gun registration.
- Expanded NICS checks to delve into sealed juvenile and mental health records, violating privacy rights.
Despite repeated warnings from grassroots organizations like NAGR & TXGR, Cornyn pushed forward, and now the Biden administration’s abuses of his framework—from red flag enforcement to federal rulemaking—are costing law-abiding Americans their rights.
“We warned him. He did it anyway. Now millions of Americans are paying the price,” TXGR’s open letter reads.
Grassroots Pushback Builds
With Thune and Scott lobbying Trump to support Cornyn and Cornyn’s own ambitions for Senate leadership lingering in the background, the stakes are rising.
Gun owners already blocked Cornyn’s rise to Senate Majority Leader last year, a loss driven in part by his gun control record and the fierce opposition from pro-Second Amendment advocates.
TXGR’s open letter campaign is emerging as a significant show of force: Thousands of Texans have signed on in opposition to Cornyn’s endorsement. The campaign had generated over 20,000 social media impressions in the first 24 hours alone, and soon ballooned to over 100,000, amplifying the message that Cornyn is out of step with Texas gun owners.
TXGR to Deliver Letter in Person
McNutt isn’t stopping at online signatures. He plans to personally deliver the letter to President Trump in June during a trip to Washington, D.C., ensuring that the voices of Texas gun owners are heard loud and clear.
“Endorsing Cornyn would undermine the tremendous pro-gun progress President Trump has made in recent months,” McNutt warned, citing Trump’s firing of ATF Director Steve Dettelbach, his rollback of the ATF’s Zero Tolerance Policy, and his appointments of pro-gun advocates like Robert Leider.
The letter makes one final request: If Trump cannot endorse a pro-gun candidate in the race, he should remain neutral, letting Texas voters choose between “a career compromiser and a constitutional warrior.”
The message from gun owners in Texas is clear: Cornyn’s anti-gun record disqualifies him from their support—and Trump’s endorsement.
I strongly agree that his choice would not be a good thing.
Tennessee Defends Firearm Freedom!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G0_Xz_7vBM
He’s a RINO, get rid of him
He is a GWB RINO and voters should replace him with a true conservative. He often voted with the left and voted to impeach Trump. He should retire from the Republican Party and join his Demomarxist Party.
I want to see which gun rights group or groups will endorse him?
Does Texas have a viable conservative alternative? It wouldn’t surprise me if Trump endorsed him in the end. He needs the numbers in the Senate. But he did go after Thomas Massey in the House. And the margin there is only 3 votes!!!
It makes me wonder if Massey said one thing to Trump in private. And then did the opposite?
But I do like Massey.