Trump’s endorsement of Ken Paxton sharpened a high-stakes contest inside the Texas Republican Party on Tuesday, as Paxton moved closer to unseating incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in next week’s runoff for the U.S. Senate seat. Trump made the endorsement in a social media post during a Paxton campaign event in Allen, Texas, where news of the move prompted cheering among supporters.

In his post, Trump wrote: “Ken is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate,” according to the Associated Press. Paxton responded publicly by saying, “I have so much respect for the president and appreciate so much his endorsement,” in remarks at the event.

Paxton and Cornyn will meet in the May 26 runoff after finishing as the top vote-getters in the March 3 Republican primary, where no candidate won a majority. Early voting began Monday and runs through Friday ahead of the runoff.

Cornyn, speaking at a later campaign event in Lubbock on Tuesday, said Trump’s endorsement “will certainly have an impact on the race,” while adding “we’re not giving up the fight.” He also argued that Texas voters have the final say, saying, “I know who gets to choose our senators and it’s the people of Texas,” and “there’s no substitute for that.” Cornyn said he had not spoken with Trump about the endorsement.

Even as the endorsement energized Paxton supporters, it also highlighted the broader intraparty fight over who best represents Republicans heading into November’s general election. Senate Republicans expressed concern at a luncheon about whether backing Paxton could force the party to spend more money, with Sen. Cynthia Lummis saying, “I’m sad, I’m actually sad,” and adding she believed Cornyn had a better chance in the general election and that “Now it’ll just cost us a fortune.”

Paxton’s campaign has pitched him as a political warrior for the Make America Great Again movement, while Cornyn has framed himself as a stronger general-election candidate against Democratic state Rep. James Talarico, according to the AP. Talarico, in a statement, said “it doesn’t matter who wins this runoff,” adding that “We already know who we’re running against: the billionaire megadonors and their corrupt political system.”

The runoff has also become a spending-heavy battle within the GOP primary that some Republicans say will divert money from more competitive contests elsewhere. According to AdImpact, Cornyn’s campaign organizations and allied super PACs planned to spend more than $87 million on advertising, including more than $18.5 million since the March 3 primary, with most of it dedicated to attacking Paxton. Paxton’s campaign groups and a single super PAC planned to spend a smaller amount—$9.2 million in total advertising, including about $4.9 million since the primary.

Trump’s endorsement comes amid longstanding tensions between the two Republicans. The AP reported that Cornyn had suggested in 2023 that Trump could not win the presidency again in 2024, and that Cornyn had criticized Trump’s border-wall plan early on before later supporting it. In Trump’s social media post, he acknowledged Cornyn as “a good man” but said Cornyn “was not supportive of me when times were tough,” complaining that Cornyn was “very late in backing me” in what Trump described as a “Historic Run for the Republican Nomination.”

The endorsement followed Trump’s earlier efforts in Republican primaries to back candidates he deemed more aligned with him, the AP reported. The report also noted that Trump’s endorsement put Paxton at odds with the party establishment, which believes Cornyn is better positioned for the November matchup against Talarico. Trump’s endorsement did not change the Democratic nominee’s stance, with Talarico continuing to say he would be running against the same political structure regardless of whether Paxton or Cornyn wins.

Sources:

  • AP and related republished coverage (see sources in metadata injected by the pipeline).