Democrats just got played by the GOP establishment.
But the scheme might backfire spectacularly.
Because an establishment GOP campaign arm confessed to orchestrating Jasmine Crockett's Senate run to help RINO John Cornyn just exposed their desperation.
NRSC Admits Months-Long Operation to Recruit Crockett for Cornyn's Benefit
The National Republican Senatorial Committee just confessed they've been working behind the scenes for months to get Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) into the Texas Senate race.¹
The goal was simple — give establishment RINO John Cornyn an easy Democrat opponent to beat.
"When we saw the results, we were like, 'OK, we got to disseminate this far and wide,'" a source familiar with the operation told NOTUS.²
The whole scheme started in July when the NRSC commissioned polling showing Crockett leading a hypothetical Democratic primary.³
Republicans then launched what they called a "sustained effort that we orchestrated across the ecosystem for several months."⁴
Phone calls and text messages flooded Texas Democrats urging them to pressure Crockett's office to run for Senate.
"Not only was it getting positive news coverage, but her office was directly having traffic driven to it in terms of phone calls urging her to run," the source revealed.⁵
NRSC Communications Director Joanna Rodriguez made clear this was all about protecting Cornyn.
"Crockett said herself no Texas Democrat is beating John Cornyn, and the threat of her in the U.S. Senate makes it clearer now than ever that Cornyn is the only conservative who will keep Texas red and safeguard President Trump's Senate Majority," Rodriguez stated.⁶
Cornyn Locked in Dead Heat With Ken Paxton Despite NRSC's Scheming
Here's what the NRSC doesn't want you to know.
Cornyn is fighting for his political life against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Republican primary.
The latest polling from Emerson College shows Cornyn at 30% and Paxton at 29% — a statistical dead heat with 37% of voters still undecided.⁷
That's after Cornyn and his establishment allies spent millions trying to boost his numbers over the summer.⁸
Earlier polls had Paxton leading by double digits.⁹
The race has become a battle between the GOP establishment wing that backs Cornyn and the America First conservatives rallying behind Paxton.¹⁰
Rep. Wesley Hunt entered the race in October and is polling at 22%, making a primary runoff almost certain.¹¹
Cornyn has been in the Senate since 2002 and is exactly the kind of establishment Republican that Trump supporters can't stand.¹²
He supported the bipartisan gun control bill after Uvalde, backed the DREAM Act for illegal aliens, and played nice with Democrats on Ukraine funding.¹³
Paxton, on the other hand, is a Trump ally who's been fighting the Biden-Harris administration's lawlessness for years.
The fact that the NRSC is scheming to give Cornyn a weak Democrat opponent tells you everything about how worried they are that Paxton will win the primary.
Crockett Fell for GOP Polling That Republicans Created
Crockett admitted before jumping in the race that she didn't think any Democrat could beat Cornyn.
"I'm going to be flat out with you and tell you that I don't think that there's a Democrat that can take out Cornyn," Crockett said.¹⁴
She only changed her mind after seeing positive polling numbers.
"The more I saw the poll results, I couldn't ignore the trends that were clear," Crockett declared during her Senate announcement.¹⁵
What she didn't realize was that Republicans were the ones creating and spreading those polls to manipulate her into running.
The National Republican Congressional Committee immediately celebrated, calling Crockett "electoral kryptonite" for vulnerable Texas Democrats.¹⁶
Their internal polling showed Crockett's image was underwater in 50 battleground districts across the country.¹⁷
Crockett has racked up one controversy after another — calling wheelchair-bound Gov. Greg Abbott "Gov. Hot Wheels," comparing President Trump to Adolf Hitler, and making violent statements about Republicans.¹⁸
Now Republicans plan to prop up Crockett during the Democratic primary through front groups.
"There have been conversations with outside groups and conservative figures about the possibility of working to stand up independent expenditure arms and offshoot brands that aren't necessarily overtly Republican entities, but that would prop her candidacy up," the source told NOTUS.¹⁹
But here's the delicious irony.
If Paxton wins the Republican primary — and polls show he has a real shot — the NRSC's entire scheme to help Cornyn collapses.
Democrats would face a genuine America First conservative instead of an establishment RINO who cuts deals with Chuck Schumer.
The GOP establishment just admitted they're terrified of a real primary fight.
And they're willing to manipulate the Democrat primary to try saving Cornyn's hide.
That tells you everything you need to know about how weak Cornyn really is.
The good news is the NRSC move to prod Texas Democrats into clearing a path for Crockett certainly won’t hurt Paxton or Hunt should either of them emerge victorious in the GOP primary.
¹ Evan McMorris-Santoro & Jasmine Wright, "National Republicans Propped Up Jasmine Crockett to Push Her Into a Senate Run," NOTUS, December 10, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ Gabby Birenbaum and Joshua Fechter, "Jasmine Crockett enters Democratic primary for U.S. Senate," The Texas Tribune, December 8, 2025.
⁷ "Texas 2026 Poll: Cornyn and Paxton in Dead Heat for GOP Senate Nomination," Emerson College Polling, August 15, 2025.
⁸ Gabby Birenbaum, "Poll finds Cornyn, Paxton in dead heat in Texas' Senate GOP primary," The Texas Tribune, August 15, 2025.
⁹ "John Cornyn trailing Ken Paxton in Senate primary, says new internal polls," Houston Chronicle, April 30, 2025.
¹⁰ "2026 United States Senate election in Texas," Wikipedia, December 14, 2025.
¹¹ "Cornyn, Paxton, and Hunt locked in tight three-way battle in GOP primary for Texas Senate," CBS Texas, November 2025.
¹² "2026 United States Senate election in Texas," Wikipedia, December 14, 2025.
¹³ Ibid.
¹⁴ The Horn editorial team, "Top Dem falls for clever Republican trick," The Horn News, December 14, 2025.
¹⁵ Evan McMorris-Santoro & Jasmine Wright, "National Republicans Propped Up Jasmine Crockett to Push Her Into a Senate Run," NOTUS, December 10, 2025.
¹⁶ "Texas Democrats divided over Jasmine Crockett's Senate bid," The Texas Tribune, December 9, 2025.
¹⁷ Ibid.
¹⁸ Multiple Sources.
¹⁹ Evan McMorris-Santoro & Jasmine Wright, "National Republicans Propped Up Jasmine Crockett to Push Her Into a Senate Run," NOTUS, December 10, 2025.
