ALLEN, Texas (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the GOP primary for U.S. Senate, supercharging his effort to oust incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in next week's runoff.
“Ken is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate,” Trump wrote on social media.
News of the endorsement broke during a Paxton campaign event, drawing cheers from supporters who began dancing to “YMCA,” a Trump campaign anthem.
“I have so much respect for the president and appreciate so much his endorsement," Paxton said at the event in Allen, Texas. He spoke about his first bid for public office, adding “I’m so grateful to be back, especially on such an important day being endorsed by the president of the United States.”
Paxton and Cornyn advanced to a May 26 runoff after finishing as the top vote getters in a March 3 primary where no candidate won a majority. Early voting started Monday and continues through Friday.
Trump’s endorsement is the latest of several he has handed out in Republican primaries in an attempt to cull the GOP of those who’ve opposed him. Recent successes have emboldened Trump, including the defeats of Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy in Louisiana, and Indiana state senators who opposed him on redistricting.
Although the four-term Cornyn has backed Trump’s agenda in Washington, Paxton pitched himself as a political warrior for the Make America Great Again movement. Trump’s endorsement puts him at odds with his party’s establishment, which is convinced that Cornyn is the better candidate for November’s general election. The Republican nominee will face Democratic state Rep. James Talarico.
In a post on X after Trump's endorsement, Cornyn emphasized his closeness to Trump, saying he voted with him “99% of the time” and that the president has “consistently called me a friend in this race.”
Cornyn then leaned into an argument he’s repeated on the campaign trail: that in November’s general election against Talarico, Paxton will be “a weak nominee who jeopardizes everything we care about.”
Talarico said in a statement that “it doesn’t matter who wins this runoff. We already know who we’re running against: the billionaire mega-donors and their corrupt political system.”
Trump, in his social media post, said Cornyn was “a good man” but “he was not supportive of me when times were tough.” He complained that “John was very late in backing me in what turned out to be a Historic Run for the Republican Nomination.”
The runoff between Cornyn and Paxton had been shaping up as a bitter and expensive battle for the future of the Republican Party, and one that was diverting resources from other competitive races elsewhere in the country.
Trump frustrated some Republicans by declining to endorse earlier in the race. On the Friday before the March 3 primary, he said that he had “pretty much” decided whom to support — but declined to say who — when asked by reporters on a visit to Corpus Christi.
On the day after the primary, Trump promised to make an endorsement and said he would expect the candidate without his support to drop out. Paxton had said that he would not leave the race.
Trump has had an at-times cool relationship with Cornyn, notably after the senator suggested in 2023 that Trump could not win the presidency again in 2024 and that his “time has passed him by.”
Cornyn also was an early critic of Trump’s plan for a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico — a project he now supports.
A former state attorney general and state Supreme Court judge, Cornyn was first elected to statewide office 36 years ago. His understated style and judge’s temperament contrast with the fiery rhetoric of Trump and his Make America Great Again movement.
Cornyn has had support from Senate Republican leadership, including South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, who warned that “it is a strong possibility we cannot hold Texas if John Cornyn is not our nominee.”
Some Republican leaders have worried the party will need to spend much more money to defend the seat if Paxton is the nominee — money they could be spending on Senate races in more competitive states. Paxton was acquitted in a 2023 impeachment trial on corruption charges. He also reached a deal in 2024 to end a long-running securities fraud case.
Trump stoked the competition on Feb. 27 in Corpus Christi, noting there’s “a little bit of a race,” while acknowledging their attendance.
“We have a great attorney general, Ken Paxton. Where’s Ken? Hi, Ken,” Trump said. He continued, “And we have a great senator, John Cornyn. Hi, John.”
“It’s going to be an interesting one, right? They’re both great people,” he added.
Trump also gave a nod to Rep. Wesley Hunt, who finished third on March 3 and did not advance.
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