Trump Endorses Paxton in Texas Senate Primary Runoff
US President Donald Trump has officially endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in his effort to defeat incumbent Senator John Cornyn in the upcoming Republican primary runoff scheduled for next Tuesday.
By endorsing Paxton, Trump is backing a Texas politician who has been a longstanding ally but who also carries significant political controversies.
Many Democrats consider Paxton the weaker candidate between the two and see an opportunity to flip a Senate seat in Texas, a state traditionally dominated by Republicans.
Trump's endorsement has disappointed Cornyn's Senate Republican colleagues, many of whom have worked closely with him for decades and regard him as a friend and ally.
Maine Senator Susan Collins described Paxton as "ethically challenged," while Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski expressed that she was "supremely disappointed" by Trump's decision.
Nevertheless, Trump appears to have different priorities.
Trump's support for Paxton stems from their close political alliance. As attorney general, Paxton supported Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
Paxton also traveled to New York City to rally in support of Trump during his 2024 trial and conviction related to hush-money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
Like Trump, Paxton has a political career marked by scandals and legal challenges, yet he has maintained a reputation as a resilient figure.
He recently resolved a federal corruption indictment without admitting wrongdoing.
In 2023, Paxton was impeached by the Republican-controlled Texas legislature on allegations of fraud and obstruction of justice but was acquitted in a state Senate trial.
Last year, his wife filed for divorce amid allegations of multiple extramarital affairs.
"I know Ken well, have seen him tested at the highest and most difficult levels, and he is a winner!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
"John Cornyn is a good man, and I worked well with him, but he was not supportive of me when times were tough."
On Tuesday, Cornyn posted on X that he had voted with Trump over 99% of the time.
"It is now time for Texas Republican voters to decide if they want a strong nominee to help our GOP candidates down ballot and defeat Talarico in November, or a weak nominee who jeopardizes everything we care about."
Trump’s Pattern of Backing Challengers Against Incumbents
This endorsement is not an isolated incident of Trump supporting challengers over incumbent Republicans.
On Saturday, Senator Bill Cassidy lost to a Trump-endorsed opponent in Louisiana's Republican primary.
On Tuesday evening, Kentucky voters were projected to have chosen Ed Gallrein over incumbent Congressman Thomas Massie in that state's primary. Trump had recruited Gallrein to challenge Massie.
Both Cassidy and Massie had publicly distanced themselves from Trump. Cassidy voted to convict Trump during the 2021 Senate impeachment trial, while Massie opposed key parts of Trump's legislative agenda, including military operations in Venezuela and Iran.
In contrast, 74-year-old Cornyn has served in Senate Republican leadership from 2012 to 2024 and is generally viewed as a party loyalist aligned with the Republican establishment.
However, Cornyn did not endorse Trump's re-election bid until January 2024, more than a year after Trump announced his candidacy, a delay Trump referenced in his endorsement post.
During the campaign, Paxton criticized Cornyn for voting in favor of new gun regulations and accused him of insufficiently supporting immigration enforcement along the Texas-Mexico border.
Cornyn's campaign highlighted Paxton's history of political and legal controversies and questioned his personal conduct.
Early voting has already begun in Texas for what polls indicated was a closely contested runoff race.
In their initial March matchup, Cornyn narrowly led Paxton but failed to reach the 50% threshold needed to secure the nomination outright, despite outspending Paxton by over $65 million.
A day after those results, Trump promised to endorse one candidate and urged the other to withdraw. However, several months passed before Trump made his endorsement.
By endorsing Paxton, Trump may have significantly diminished Cornyn's chances of winning the runoff.
Upcoming General Election and Democratic Opponent
The winner of Tuesday's primary will face Democrat James Talarico, a Texas state legislator who secured his party's nomination over Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett without a runoff.
It has been 32 years since a Democrat won a statewide election in Texas, although Beto O'Rourke's 2018 Senate campaign came within 215,000 votes of defeating Senator Ted Cruz in a race with over eight million ballots cast.
Trump won Texas in 2024 by 14%, but recent public opinion polls suggest a competitive general election in November.
Follow the twists and turns of Trump's second term with North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher's weekly US Politics Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can here. Those outside the UK can here.
