Former President Bush and Sen. Cornyn take part in fundraiser for battleground Senate candidates -- without Paxton

Former President George W. Bush and Sen. John Cornyn gathered Republican donors for a fundraiser Monday night in support of many of the party's major Senate candidates, excluding Texas GOP Senate nominee Ken Paxton, sources familiar with the event confirmed to ABC News.

Cornyn hosted a fundraiser in Dallas on Monday evening for six Republican Senate candidates running in races this cycle that will decide control of Congress. Bush was listed on invitations as a "special guest."

Attendees included Republican Sens. Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Jon Husted of Ohio, former Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan, Rep. Ashley Hinson of Iowa, former Sen. John Sununu of New Hampshire and Michelle Tafoya, who is running in Minnesota.

The event supported Maintain the Majority, a new joint fundraising committee supporting Senate candidates in Alaska, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire and Ohio. Some of the donors invited to the event have also contributed to Paxton’s Senate campaign.

Notably absent from the list was Paxton, the thrice-elected Texas attorney general who defeated Cornyn in the most expensive Senate primary in U.S. history and one of the most-watched Senate primaries this cycle.

Paxton's exclusion is the latest example of how Republicans have struggled to get behind the scandal-ridden candidate.

The gathering also represents the divide between the old guard of the Republican Party and the new. Many establishment Republicans endorsed Cornyn -- with Bush even donating $5,000 to Cornyn during the primary. Meanwhile, Paxton received the endorsement of President Donald Trump and garnered support from the MAGA base. 

The event's host committee also brought together figures from the George W. Bush era, such as former Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers and former Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.

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The event comes as more money floods into the Texas Senate race between Paxton and Democratic candidate, Texas state Rep. James Talarico.

For most of the race, Talarico held a substantial fundraising advantage over Paxton, but Paxton is now closing the gap with support from outside Republican groups. Paxton has now received more than $109 million in outside spending, including money from the Trump-aligned super PAC, MAGA Inc. and the Elon Musk-funded America PAC.

Although Cornyn has no plans to campaign for Paxton and has criticized him, the outgoing Texas senator has said he plans to support the Republican ticket in November. 

Also notably, GOP Senate candidates Michael Whatley of North Carolina and Rep. Mike Collins of Georgia were also left out of the Cornyn-Bush fundraiser.

Some GOP operatives said they believe those two Senate races may be slipping out of reach for Republicans and have argued that the party's resources should be spent in other states that can help the party maintain its Senate edge. 

ABC News has reached out to the Paxton campaign, Bush's spokesperson and Cornyn’s office for comment.

The New York Times was first to report on the fundraiser.