Bush Attends GOP Fundraiser That Excludes Paxton

Former President George W. Bush attended a Dallas fundraiser hosted by Sen. John Cornyn for a Republican Senate fundraising committee, but Texas Republican nominee Ken Paxton was not listed among the participants, according to the event invitation described in reporting. The gathering supported Republican candidates in six other states, leaving the reason for Paxton’s omission unclear. The event was held Monday evening for Maintain the Majority, a joint fundraising committee supporting nominees in Maine, Ohio, Alaska, Iowa, Michigan and New Hampshire. Bush was identified as a special guest, and a spokesman confirmed he would attend. The invitation listed Cornyn and several of the candidates as participants; Paxton, who defeated Cornyn in the Republican primary earlier this year, was not included. The invitation is the reported basis for the participant list, and no public explanation from Cornyn or Bush for Paxton’s absence was provided. Paxton’s campaign declined to comment, according to one account. The omission does not, by itself, establish whether the decision was intended as a political rebuke or reflected another consideration.