Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has cast himself as a "secret weapon" for Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton, whose campaign in one of the year's most consequential midterm contests has shown increasing signs of trouble, according to a Tuesday report from Politico. The senator's deepening involvement reflects a dual motive: averting a midterm disaster in a vital red state while propping up his own future political ambitions.

Politico reported that Cruz "was eager to step in" to help the U.S. Hispanic Business Council court Paxton to attend a hall event — one piece of the influential behind-the-scenes role the senator has sought to play in a make-or-break race where, per the report, Paxton appears increasingly likely to suffer the upset of the year.

"Cruz's involvement hints at the significant behind-the-scenes role he is playing in this year's high-stakes Texas Senate race — part-time adviser, part-time bundler, full-time believer that Paxton will pull out a win and keep Cruz from representing Texas alongside a Democrat," the outlet explained. "Paxton's inner circle is dotted with longtime Cruz allies, and Cruz's aid could further cement his position as a Texas kingmaker in retiring GOP Sen. John Cornyn's absence, earn new allies and boost his national profile ahead of a potential 2028 presidential bid. But if Paxton fails, it could be a black eye for Cruz."

Cruz made no secret of his own stakes in the outcome.

"It is absolutely critical that Texas stay red, that Republicans keep a majority in the U.S. Senate and the House, and that we elect Ken Paxton instead of James Talarico," Cruz said in an interview. "And so I am all in."

Paxton, the controversial and unpopular Texas attorney general, secured the GOP nomination for this year's Senate race over the incumbent Cornyn, largely thanks to an endorsement from President Donald Trump, who viewed Paxton as sufficiently loyal. Since then, his poll numbers have steadily slipped against insurgent Democratic nominee State Rep. James Talarico, giving the opposition party its best hope in years of a major statewide win in perhaps the biggest red state of them all. No Democrat has won statewide office in Texas since 1994, a drought that underscores what a Talarico victory would represent for the party.

As Politico noted, Cruz stayed out of the "messy" primary fight between Paxton and Cornyn, but has since "come off the sidelines" in a big way.

"Cruz has regularly campaigned alongside Paxton and frequently jabs Talarico on his popular podcast," the report detailed. "His super PAC has gone on air with anti-Talarico advertising. And in addition to greasing the rails with his big-money donors in the Lone Star State, he's acting as an informal adviser, regularly speaking with Paxton, according to two people familiar with their conversations."

The political orbits of Cruz and Paxton overlap substantially. Axiom Strategies — the GOP firm run by Jeff Roe, who led Cruz's 2016 presidential campaign — has long worked with both men. Nick Maddux, senior adviser to the Paxton campaign, was a key staffer in Cruz's 2018 and 2024 reelection efforts. Sam Cooper, a longtime Cruz adviser, is now a senior strategist for the pro-Paxton Lone Star Liberty PAC.

Politico added: "Within a week of Paxton's primary runoff victory in May, Cruz emceed a Washington fundraiser for Paxton, urging attendees to come together and support the Republican nominee. Days later, Cruz joined Paxton for a Texas fly-around, stopping in Dallas, Houston and Midland all in one day, to meet with donors. Cruz said they secured $3 million in donations on that day. Cruz has presented himself as an emissary between more traditional GOP donors and Paxton's hardline MAGA world."

Cruz's activity comes amid widespread speculation that he is planning another run for president in 2028, despite coming up short in the bruising 2016 Republican primary. He recently claimed that the GOP is far from settled on Vice President JD Vance as the successor to Trump.

"This is smart on Ted's part," one anonymous longtime Texas Republican strategist told Politico. "It cements him with Paxton supporters as being the guy who stood up for him, and it allows him to expand his reach and have a greater claim on having a unified Texas behind him if he makes a run in 2028... [If Paxton loses], he put his best foot forward, and it's going to be Paxton's fault that he lost, not Ted Cruz's."

The race will be settled in November's general election, when Texas voters choose who fills the seat Cornyn is vacating, with partisan control of Congress also on the line in this year's midterms.

This article was originally published on Alternet.