Posted on 05/19/2026 9:41:45 AM PDT by DFG
President Donald Trump endorsed Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Tuesday over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn ahead of the Senate runoff.
Cornyn and Paxton competed in a tight matchup as they both campaigned to run against Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico. Trump made endorsements for over two dozen Republican candidates across the country, but waited until early voting to make an endorsement in the Texas Senate race.
“The Highly Respected Attorney General of Texas, Ken Paxton, an America First Patriot, and someone who has always been extremely loyal to me and our AMAZING MAGA MOVEMENT, is running for the United States Senate, to represent a place I love and WON, BIG, three times, with 6.4 Million Votes in 2024 (The Most Votes in the History of the State, BY FAR)!” Trump said.
A poll from Monday found Cornyn held a three-point edge against Talarico, while Paxton tied with Talarico at two percent, according to the Barbara Jordan Public Policy Research and Survey Center. One poll found Paxton slightly leading Cornyn 48% to 45%, according to USA Today.
Early voting in the runoff against Cornyn and Paxton began Monday and will end Friday. The final day to cast a vote is scheduled for May 26.
Cornyn won a plurality of the vote in a March primary by roughly 1.5 percentage points, but he failed to secure a majority needed to avoid a runoff. He received endorsements from former Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Republican Texas Rep. Michael McCaul.
Both candidates expressed their support for Trump before the endorsement, indicating they both hoped for the president’s backing. Shortly after both candidates advanced to the runoff, Trump said he would endorse one candidate and ask the other to drop out of the race.
Paxton said in March that he would “stay in the race” regardless of who Trump endorsed. Trump said it would be “very bad for him” to refuse to drop out.
“Well, that’s bad for him to say,” Trump said. “That is bad for him. So maybe, maybe that leads me to go the other direction.”
Paxton’s campaign did not come without its challenges, as Paxton’s wife, Republican Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton, filed for divorce in July 2025 over an extramarital affair.
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Jim
Thune is sad. Pass voter ID and end the pain.
YAY!!! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👏👏👏
Bump
Good.
Yo!!!
Just in time for a JD press briefing. Knock the establishment stenographers back on their heels for a bit.
Sensible.
Great, but I was going to vote for Paxton anyway.
Vote for him twice now
So, there’s two endorsements for Paxton in just one morning.😁
That finger in the wind is getting a little crusty, Trump.
Yay!
Wow, the moderators think this belongs in the blogger section and not breaking news. No wonder the fundraiser is screwed. Sunday talk shows and the MAGA cheerleaders thread get breaking but not real breaking news. Sum ting Wong!
From a distance, I surmise Cornyn would be the safer endorsement, but the less cooperative in the Senate.
Or, is any R a lock in Texas ?
This endorsement is bringing me a lot of relief.
Past endorsements did not give reason for a good outcome. I am happy I was incorrect. Very happy.
I would have gone with Paxton.
I wonder what results we will get in today’s primaries tonight?
If Paxton wins we might lose in November. Cornyn would have won easily.
If we lose the Senate in November, you can point back to this as to why
Need to get rid of Cornyn
Not anymore in a state-wide election. If R turnout is high on the GE then ok, if some stay home it may turn.
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