President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he will endorse a candidate “soon” in the GOP Senate primary in Texas, a move that Republicans say could be decisive in the runoff between Sen. John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that whoever he does not back should drop out of the race, writing that the primary contest “MUST STOP NOW.”
“My Endorsements within the Republican Party have been virtually insurmountable!,” Trump wrote. “It is such an honor to realize and say that almost everyone I Endorse WINS, and wins by a lot, especially in Texas! I will be making my Endorsement soon, and will be asking the candidate that I don’t Endorse to immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE! Is that fair? We must win in November!!!”
Ahead of Tuesday’s primary, one person familiar with the White House’s thinking on the race said Trump was likely to endorse Cornyn if the senator kept the race close.
That person suggested Cornyn is viewed as a safer bet of holding onto the seat, given Paxton’s various controversies. Paxton’s wife is divorcing him on “biblical grounds,” and he was impeached in 2023 on bribery and corruption charges, though the state Senate acquitted him.
Cornyn and Paxton advanced to a May 26 runoff after neither candidate won a majority of the primary vote on Tuesday. Cornyn is narrowly leading Paxton, 42% to 41%.
”We believe the case for Trump endorsing Cornyn got stronger,” a Cornyn campaign official said Wednesday. The official declined to say if the campaign had been in touch with the White House, but added, “Stay tuned.”
Senate Republican leaders, who for months have been pushing Trump to back Cornyn, re-upped those calls on Wednesday, arguing that he would be a stronger nominee as Democrats look to make the race in the historically red state competitive in the fall.
Democrats picked state Rep. James Talarico as their party’s nominee on Tuesday. Some Republicans viewed Talarico as a tougher general election opponent with more bipartisan appeal than Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who was known for her combative style and clashes with Trump.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that Cornyn had a “great night,” and noted that Democrats already having their nominee was “not helpful.”
“He’s positioned to win the runoff,” Thune said of Cornyn, “and if the president endorses early that saves everybody a lot of money, and a lot of — just 10 weeks of a spirited campaign on our side that keeps us from spending time focusing on the Democrats.”
Senate Majority Whip John Barasso, R-Wyo., said, “We need to hold that seat, which means we need to nominate somebody that’s going to win in November, and to me, that’s only one of those two that’s going to make it to the runoff, and that’s Jon Cornyn. I would encourage the president to endorse him. The president will make his own decisions on his own time.”
George Seay, a longtime Cornyn supporter and major Texas Republican donor, said on Wednesday that a Trump endorsement could end the primary fight.
“It would be so refreshing if the President would just come out and say, ‘Let’s re-elect John Cornyn, we’ve had enough of this.’ We would all really love that,” Seay said, later adding, “If he does that, it’s over.”
Brendan Steinhauser, a Texas Republican strategist who managed Cornyn’s re-election campaign in 2014 but was not involved in this year’s race, said he expected both Cornyn and Paxton to be making their cases to the White House following Tuesday’s primary.
“For John Cornyn, he’s going to say that he’s got a better shot against Talarico, save money for the party, etc. For Paxton, he’s going to say to the president, ‘I’ve been your most loyal friend and ally in Texas. I never wavered. And I’m with you all the way,’” Steinhauser said. “And so the president is going to consider those arguments and we’ll see what he does.”
Paxton’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday, but the super PAC supporting him suggested it was gearing up for a fight.
“Ken Paxton enters the compressed runoff as the prohibitive favorite against career RINO John Cornyn after coming within a point of unseating the 30-year incumbent despite establishment DC outspending us 10-1,” said Gregg Keller, who runs Lone Star Liberty PAC. He added that runoff electorates are historically “far more conservative” and that polling has shown Paxton is popular with Trump’s base of voters.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who reiterated on Wednesday that he is staying neutral in the primary, said Trump’s Truth Social post on the race “speaks for itself.”
“Doesn’t surprise me that the president is going to make an endorsement,” Cruz said. “I think we’ll all wait and see what he says.”
