U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has a message for moderate Republicans: Stop complaining and support Ken Paxton.
Cruz appeared on Fox News and later shared the clip on X, arguing that moderates have long told conservatives to support the Republican nominee after losing a primary.
“For years, moderates have told conservatives to shut up and support the nominee when their guy wins. Same rule applies now,” Cruz wrote on X. In the Fox News interview, he took aim at Republicans who continue to criticize Paxton following the primary.
For years, moderates have told conservatives to shut up and support the nominee when their guy wins. Same rule applies now. The primary is over. Ken Paxton won. Support the nominee. Texas is too important to hand over to a communist
lunatic because Republicans are still… pic.twitter.com/zhSACwZ74k
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) September 2, 2026
“Some of the Republicans that are throwing rocks at Ken Paxton, my message to them is enough — stop your bi---ching,” Cruz said. “We had a $200 million primary, and Ken won — and one of the reasons the numbers are close is because $200 million of attack ads were run against him, and that does damage.”
Paxton is facing Democratic challenger James Talarico in the race for the U.S. Senate. Of the publicly released polls conducted in August, the recent Texas Public Opinion Research survey is the only one showing either candidate leading by more than the poll's margin of error. Released Aug. 27, the poll showed Talarico leading Paxton by 6 percentage points, 48% to 42%, a lead outside the poll's 3.3-percentage-point margin of error.
“Every moderate Republican, when they win a primary, they tell conservatives, ‘Now shut up and support the nominee,’” Cruz said. “My answer to everyone whining: shut up and support the nominee.”
Natassia Paloma may be reached at npaloma@gannett.com, @NatassiaPaloma on X, natassia_paloma on Instagram, and Natassia Paloma on Facebook.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ted Cruz tells moderate Republicans to 'shut up' and support Paxton
