President Donald Trump endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the state’s Republican Senate primary, a reversal of his earlier plan to endorse Sen. John Cornyn — and a victory for Trump’s MAGA base.
Trump announced his endorsement of Paxton over Sen. John Cornyn, the 23-year incumbent, after waffling for months on how to proceed. The runoff election between the two men is next week, and early balloting has already begun.
Trump’s political advisers and top Senate leadership in Washington had urged Trump to back Cornyn, arguing that Paxton has too much personal baggage and would be a weak general election candidate in a once solidly red state that has become increasingly worrying for Republicans. Paxton has been dogged by scandals involving accusations of infidelity and misuse of public funds. He was impeached in 2023 by the Republican-majority Texas House but acquitted by the state Senate.
After avoiding picking a side early in the race, Trump had been set to endorse Cornyn after the incumbent came in first place in the primary earlier this year — when the race went to a runoff. In early March, Trump was prepared to take the advice of Cornyn’s consultants and allies and endorse him in the runoff, three people with knowledge of his thinking at the time told The Washington Post. On March 4, Trump posted to Truth Social that he would be endorsing in the race “soon,” and “will be asking the candidate that I don’t Endorse to immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE!”
Grassroots conservative activists and prominent MAGA commentators erupted. As Cornyn allies continued to urge the president to back him, Paxton declared that he would consider dropping out only if Cornyn and the Senate GOP leadership eliminated the Senate’s rules that allow filibusters. That would enable Republicans to pass Trump’s SAVE America voting bill, a top priority for the president that had been stalled by a Democratic filibuster. Paxton texted his announcement directly to the president, according to a person with knowledge of the message.
In the weeks that followed, Trump appeared to be reconsidering whom he would back, quizzing a variety of people about the two candidates, including donors, members of Congress and others with whom he came into contact in the White House or on the golf course.
Paxton tried to charm Trump face-to-face later that month while attending a Palm Beach Republican Party event at Mar-a-Lago on March 20, according to two people with knowledge of the conversation, who described the conversation as positive for Paxton.
White House officials, meanwhile, went into a wait-and-see approach, with one person with knowledge of the White House’s thinking on midterms strategy saying officials there were “still letting it play out” as Trump was weighing his options. The president in subsequent interviews with reporters discussed his like for both men and turned his focus on the weaknesses of the Democrat either one would be running against, James Talarico. Trump suggested that Talarico didn’t have a chance of winning, regardless of the Republican nominee.
Ahead of the endorsement, former Trump adviser Stephen K. Bannon, who has backed Paxton in the race, said on his daily talk show Tuesday that Trump’s endorsement in the race would be a “monumental decision.”
The post Trump endorses Paxton in Texas Senate primary over incumbent Cornyn appeared first on Washington Post.
