A lawmaker endorsed by Donald Trump has turned against the president by refusing to support his pick for the Senate.
The president backed Texas state Rep. Jeff Leach in July last year, writing to him in a letter saying, “I am honored to give you, Jeff Leach, my Complete and Total Endorsement.”
Now Leach has stabbed him in the back, calling on voters to support the non-Trump candidate in the upcoming Senate primary runoff in Texas. Leach’s decision is related to a legal spat over a disgraced former attorney in Waco.
Leach has given his support to Senator John Cornyn, the incumbent since 2002, despite Trump endorsing State Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday. The Texas Tribune reports that Trump said that, “when times were tough,” Paxton was there for him, and implied the same could not be said for Cornyn, who questioned his electability in 2023 and was late in giving him his support in 2024.
Leach bristled at Paxton’s office for giving a plea deal to attorney Adam Hoffman, who had been charged with continuous sexual abuse of a young child and was facing life without parole.
Paxton’s office took over the case after the local McLennan County district attorney recused himself.
“This is Adam Hoffman. He repeatedly raped a Texas boy—for nearly three years—dozens and dozens of times,” Leach wrote on X.
“Tomorrow morning, May 25th 2026, he will be released from McLennan County Jail after spending just a few weeks there. He will not be required to register as a sex offender. And very soon he’ll be allowed to practice law again.
“A real and dangerous predator—a present threat to Texas children—will be as free as you and me. A slap on his wrist and a spit in the face to his victim.
“Why?! How?! Because that’s the deal he made with Ken Paxton. Vote accordingly.”
Hoffman, 49, was sentenced to 60 days in jail in April for sexually abusing a young boy, 10KWTX reports.
He pleaded guilty to Class A misdemeanors of indecent assault and displaying harmful materials to a minor. Those crimes could earn up to a year in prison.
He was initially charged and tried for first-degree felony continuous sexual abuse of a young child last year and could have faced life without parole, but the case ended in a mistrial.
Instead, he was offered reduced charges as part of the plea deal he struck with Paxton’s Attorney General’s Office. He also had to resign from the State Bar of Texas for at least five years.
Hoffman’s sentence was doubled from the original 30-day agreement he struck with Paxton after the judge said he was troubled by the deal.
Visiting Judge Roy Sparkman said he was worried by the “trend” established by the attorney general’s office, and told the court, “Part of my dilemma with this is that I have seen how difficult it is for kids in this process.”
Trump’s decision to back Paxton touches on a key split in the Republican Party.
The Washington Post reported in March that Trump had been gearing up to endorse Cornyn after weeks of indecision.
Senate GOP leadership had urged Trump to back him, but a groundswell of MAGA anger reportedly led to a change of tack.
The primary ended up in a runoff after neither candidate secured the 50 percent of the vote needed to win. That time around, Cornyn edged Paxton with 42.0 percent versus 40.5 percent.
That was before Trump’s endorsement.
Grassroots MAGA circles in Texas opposed Cornyn and wanted Paxton, a MAGA darling with strong ties to the movement.
Trump finally took notice after a term dogged by fury from his own base, caused by his dragging his heels over the release of the Epstein files and focusing on foreign policy, offending many of his loyal voters’ America First sensibilities.
Paxton’s record is not unblemished.
In 2023, the Republican majority in the Texas House impeached Paxton, but the state senate acquitted him after he pleaded not guilty to 16 charges that included obstruction of justice, bribery, conspiracy, and abuse of the public’s trust.
Still, Trump has now gone all in.
“The Highly Respected Attorney General of Texas, Ken Paxton, an America First Patriot, and someone who has always been extremely loyal to me and our AMAZING MAGA MOVEMENT, is running for the United States Senate, to represent a place I love and WON, BIG, three times, with 6.4 Million Votes in 2024 (The Most Votes in the History of the State, BY FAR)!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday.
But it might not have the desired effect, turning Democratic candidate James Talarico into the favorite for the November race.
“The Kalshi market for the Texas Senate race is now tied at 50 percent between the eventual Republican nominee and Democratic candidate James Talarico,” the news arm of prediction market Kalshi reported.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
