Neither Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) nor Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton dropped out of the competitive Senate race on Tuesday before the 5 p.m. deadline passed.
Both GOP primary candidates are set to face off next in the May 26 runoff election. In the primary election earlier this month, Cornyn performed slightly better than Paxton. But because neither candidate won an outright majority of votes, a runoff was triggered.
One day after the March 3 primary, President Donald Trump indicated he would make an endorsement in the race “soon” without specifying who had his support. Initial reports suggested Trump was leaning toward Cornyn, but Paxton has since tried to curry favor with the president by supporting a streamlined passage of the SAVE America Act.
The legislation, which would require proof of citizenship and identification for voter registration, has been stalled in the Senate for weeks because at least 60 votes are needed for it to pass.
Paxton has called on the Republican-controlled upper chamber to scrap the filibuster in order to enact the measure. In exchange, he pledged to drop out. Little progress on the bill has been made.
The SAVE America Act is currently up for debate on the Senate floor this week. Cornyn was one of 51 Republicans to vote in favor of opening debate on the bill Tuesday afternoon. Senate Democrats are uniformly opposed to the legislation.
Trump says his endorsement is tied to the SAVE America Act. Over two weeks after the tight primary, he has not issued his endorsement.
In a recent interview with NBC News, Trump said he “always liked” Cornyn but remains unsure whether the incumbent is the Republican Party’s best chance to hold the contested Senate seat. The president intends to make his endorsement in the coming days.
SAVE AMERICA ACT SHOWDOWN RELISHED BY GOP AND DEMOCRATS ALIKE
“I’ll let you know that over the next week or so,” Trump said Saturday when asked if he’s planning to endorse Cornyn. “I like him. I always liked him.”
Whoever ends up winning the runoff election in two months will advance to the general election to face Texas state Rep. James Talarico, who defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) in the Democratic primary.