GOP eyes Trump's war chest as pricey races loom

He promoted loyalists over incumbents for Senate. Now, will he spend to help them?

- THOMAS BEAUMONT

THE PRESIDENT reaches Medora, N.D., on the Freedom 250 train Wednesday.

Trump rePresident shaped this year's U.S. Senate map by sidelining some Republican incumbents and promoting loyalists to replace them. Now the question is whether he'll put his money where his mouth is.

With four months to go until November's elections, it's still unclear how much MAGA Inc., the country's largest political war chest, with $382 million in the bank as of last month, plans to spend on key races.

The silence has persisted even as Senate Republican leaders have urged Trump's team, both privately and publicly, to pick up the tab for the president's decisions.

Front and center is Texas, where Trump successfully endorsed fiery conservative Ken Paxton over Sen. John Cornyn, a choice that some Republicans grumble has turned a safe election into a toss-up that will drain resources away from other battlegrounds.

Democratic nominee James Talarico, a state lawmaker, has made Paxton's history of corruption allegations a central target of his campaign.

"The president picked Paxton, and he's got $350 million," Cornyn recently told Semafor. "I think he can spend his money." Another challenge has emerged in North Carolina, where Sen. Thom Tillis declined to run for reelection after feuding with Trump last year over healthcare spending.