President Trump let a key filing deadline pass on Tuesday without endorsing a candidate in Texas’ Senate race, locking in a high-stakes Republican runoff between the incumbent, John Cornyn, and the state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton.
Mr. Trump could still offer an endorsement at any time, but his decision not to before the deadline for candidates to formally drop out of the race means both Mr. Cornyn and Mr. Paxton will be on the next ballot even if one of them withdraws at a later date. It also means both will continue to duke it out in what has already been a highly personal, historically expensive Senate race.
Who the president endorses, and when he makes that announcement, may now depend on the fate of the SAVE America Act, the sweeping voter ID bill being considered by the Senate. Mr. Trump is not expected to make a call in the race before debate on the bill is over.
The runoff election is May 26.
The deadline for Republican candidates to remove their names from the runoff ballot was Tuesday at 5 p.m. Central time. As of Tuesday evening, both Mr. Cornyn and Mr. Paxton remained on the ballot, their campaigns said.
After neither secured a majority in the primary election on March 3, Mr. Cornyn and Mr. Paxton vied for the president’s approval.
The day after the primary election, the president pledged to endorse in the race “soon.” News reports surfaced that he was likely to throw his support to Mr. Cornyn, but so far nothing has swayed Mr. Trump to back either man officially.
Mr. Trump spent Tuesday railing against NATO allies and calling for the passage of the SAVE America Act on social media. At the White House, he participated in St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. He did not weigh in publicly on the Senate race.
Mr. Cornyn, in another attempt before the deadline to make the case that he is the better choice, released a new attack ad Tuesday morning. The video focuses on Mr. Paxton’s character and features an A.I.-generated party scene of Mr. Paxton and two faceless women with whom he allegedly had extramarital affairs. Mr. Paxton’s wife, State Senator Angela Paxton, is divorcing him based on accusations of adultery.
For his part, Mr. Paxton has been leaning on his reputation as a MAGA-movement darling in an attempt to influence the president to take his side. Arguing that Mr. Paxton is the only true conservative in the race, a political action committee backing him recently ran ads in Florida while Mr. Trump was at his Mar-a-Lago home.
The battle for Mr. Trump’s favor has now become inextricably linked with the president’s desire to pass the SAVE America Act, a wide-ranging bill that would, among other measures, require proof of citizenship to register to vote. Mr. Trump has said he will work to oust any Republicans who oppose the bill.
Mr. Paxton said he would consider conceding if the legislation passed, which, with the current vote count, would require the circumvention of the Senate filibuster.
Mr. Cornyn has long defended the filibuster as a necessary bulwark against dangerous or extreme legislation. But, in a nod to the changing atmosphere, he recently acquiesced that the SAVE America Act is more important than the protection of a Senate rule.
The Senate is taking up the bill Tuesday, but the debate is expected to last days.
J. David Goodman contributed reporting.
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