WASHINGTON — As he closes out his first week as the Republican Senate nominee from Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton is making the rounds with top party figures in Washington, meeting with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, raising money with Sen. Ted Cruz and even receiving an audience with the president.

The embrace from party leaders comes after much of the GOP establishment spent months working to undermine Paxton’s candidacy, often in harsh and personal terms, and boost one of their own. But after Paxton defeated Sen. John Cornyn in last week’s runoff, Washington is opening its doors — and wallets — to its former foe.

In the clearest sign yet that Senate GOP leadership is reconciling with Paxton, the National Republican Senatorial Committee — the main campaign arm of Thune’s caucus — set up a new joint fundraising committee with the attorney general’s campaign.

Paxton Victory, registered with the Federal Election Commission Monday, will allow the NRSC to raise and spend money in concert with Paxton’s campaign and leadership PAC — the same arrangement it had with Cornyn’s campaign apparatus. The move will give a boost to Paxton, historically a modest fundraiser, as he works to narrow the fundraising gap with Democratic nominee James Talarico.

In that spirit, Paxton appeared Tuesday afternoon with seven Republican senators at a fundraiser hosted by AxAdvocacy, the lobbying firm affiliated with Axiom Strategies, the Republican consulting firm that counts Paxton as a client. Emceed by Cruz, the invitation included several first-term senators thought to have ambitions of rising the GOP ranks, including Sens. Katie Britt of Alabama and Bernie Moreno of Ohio. Also on the invite — which listed the price of entry at $1,000 per head — was Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt, whose term as a Republican attorney general overlapped with Paxton’s.

Leaving the fundraiser Tuesday afternoon, Cruz said he did not yet know how much had been raised but was “confident it was substantial.”

“Lots of folks came out, lots of folks wrote checks — we’re going to win in November,” Cruz said.

Paxton will also meet with President Donald Trump at the White House Tuesday night, according to a Politico report — his first in-person meeting with the president since his primary victory, a 28-point walloping aided by Trump’s mid-May endorsement of Paxton.

The attorney general’s warm welcome from Washington, an abrupt u-turn from the brutal primary, signals a GOP ready to close ranks around their nominee for a seat both parties believe will be competitive this fall.

Early polling has shown Talarico with a lead over Paxton — a rare sight in Texas, where Democrats have lost in landslide fashion since Beto O’Rourke came within a few points of Cruz in 2018. But Paxton, they believe, is uniquely vulnerable given his ethical and legal baggage, a fear that motivated Senate GOP leaders to drop tens of millions trying to keep the nomination out of his hands. Republicans are also expected to face difficult electoral conditions across the country unless Trump can reverse his sagging approval ratings.

Paxton will need significant money to broadcast his anti-Talarico message in the state’s numerous pricey media markets, making fundraising — and Washington’s ability to facilitate it — critical.

Cruz told reporters Monday that he expects Talarico to raise “a monster amount” of money, and that he plans to help Paxton — who has been significantly outraised by both Talarico and Cornyn — build his war chest. In April, Talarico reported a record-breaking $27 million haul over the first three months of the year.

“I think it is critical that we ensure that Ken Paxton is able to communicate his message with the voters of Texas,” Cruz said. “[I’m] proud to be hosting a fundraiser for him, and I’m going to be urging Texans and people across the country that want to ensure a Republican Senate, that they support his campaign — financially, with their vote, and every other way.”

Cruz remained neutral throughout the primary, but many of his colleagues — especially those in leadership — were not shy about their reservations over Paxton’s electability.

Thune advocated for Cornyn throughout the entire race, including after Trump endorsed Paxton, as the Senate GOP’s campaign arm spent millions alternately backing Cornyn and bashing Paxton as incompetent, adulterous and ethically compromised.

But the Senate majority leader quickly came around to Paxton, announcing the day after the runoff the party would be “all in” for the attorney general. The two had also spoken by phone, Thune said, last Wednesday.

One person who won’t be part of Paxton’s welcoming committee in Washington this week? His former opponent.

Cornyn told reporters Monday that he planned to support the Republican ticket in Texas, but focus his efforts on maintaining the Republican majority in winnable races around the country.

“I stand by everything I said during the whole campaign,” Cornyn said.

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