President Donald Trump said he will endorse a candidate in the Texas Senate primary race “soon,” and instructed the other candidate to “drop out” after a report revealed Trump was set to endorse incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX).
Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are heading to a runoff election after neither candidate earned more than 50% of the vote to win the Republican primary.
“My Endorsements within the Republican Party have been virtually insurmountable! It is such an honor to realize and say that almost everyone I Endorse WINS, and wins by a lot, especially in Texas,” Trump said on Truth Social. “I will be making my Endorsement soon, and will be asking the candidate that I don’t Endorse to immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE!”
Leading up to the three-way primary among Cornyn, Paxton, and Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX), Trump did not endorse any of the candidates. The president visited Texas on Friday to rile up the Republican base ahead of Tuesday’s election.
Trump posted his announcement five minutes after the Atlantic reported that the president was expected to endorse Cornyn.
Cornyn won 42.9% of the primary vote, and Paxton earned 40.5% at the time the Associated Press called the race on Tuesday night.
Trump praised Paxton and Cornyn for running “great races” but said the campaigns were “not good enough.” The president added that the next race has to be “perfect” to beat Democratic candidate James Talarico in November.
“The Republican Primary Race for the United States Senate in the Great State of Texas, a State I LOVE and won 3 times in Record Numbers (the HIGHEST vote ever recorded, by far!!!), cannot, for the good of the Party, and our Country, itself, be allowed to go on any longer. IT MUST STOP NOW,” Trump said on TruthSocial.
“We have an easy to beat, Radical Left Opponent, and we have to TOTALLY FOCUS on putting him away, quickly and decisively!”
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But this decision may not provide the results the president wants with the Paxton camp ready to be up in arms.
“Despite having $100+ million spent against them, Texas voters rejected John Cornyn 58 to 42,” a Texas Republican operative told the Washington Examiner. “If forced to accept a different result, conservatives will again reject Cornyn in November. Midterms are built by base enthusiasm, which Cornyn has none. This action will likely cost Republicans a Senate seat and leave the majority in jeopardy.”
Democratic strategists have echoed the sentiment that this could backfire on the president.
“I understand that this is a president who is very much used to getting his way in the Republican Party, but this certainly runs a risk,” Democratic strategist Jon Reneish told the Washington Examiner.
“If Donald Trump is seen as doing an establishment type move to try to manipulate the electoral playing field for the establishment candidate, there could be a big backlash from MAGA voters,” he continued.
Cornyn slammed Paxton, saying it is “judgment day” for the Texas attorney general after it was announced the Texas Republican Senate primary was heading to a runoff.
“I refuse to allow a flawed, self-centered, and shameless candidate like Ken Paxton to risk everything we’ve worked so hard to build over these many years. There is simply too much at stake in this midterm election for our state and for our country,” Cornyn said at a press conference.
Paxton argued that they sent a “message” to Washington and criticized Cornyn.
“John Cornyn is going to try to steal the election with another $100 million going into this Senate race,” Paxton said. “But here’s what we proved tonight. While the money may be on his side, the people are on our side. And in Texas, the people always win.”
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The Republican primary runoff is set for May 26.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the White House and Cornyn’s campaign for comment.