Senate Republicans are renewing pleas for President Donald Trump to endorse Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) in his primary runoff following Tuesday’s elections, fearing the nomination of Attorney General Ken Paxton (R-TX) would throw the Texas Senate seat into jeopardy against Democratic nominee James Talarico.
Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), who’s long lobbied Trump privately and publicly to throw his support behind Cornyn, said if the president “endorses early, it saves everybody a lot of money” and more than two months of extra primary campaigning, “that keeps us from spending time focusing on the Democrats.”
“If the president can weigh in, it would be enormously helpful,” Thune added, conceding that Talarico, a state representative, presents a greater challenge for Republicans to hold onto the Lone Star State than would have primary rival Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX).
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Describing Cornyn as a “strong conservative” and advocating for Trump’s endorsement, Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY) pitched the fourth-term senator as vital to defeating Talarico.
“The turnout was greater for Democrats than for Republicans… which shows that the energy and enthusiasm is there on the Democrat side,” Barrasso said. “We need to nominate somebody who attracts voters all across the state of Texas, and that’s John Cornyn.”
GOP senators may soon get their wish.
Trump teased Wednesday in a Truth Social post he would be “making my Endorsement soon” in a race he’s so far remained neutral.
Keeping the seat Republican is seen as crucial for the party’s 53-47 Senate majority. No candidate secured at least 50% of the vote in Tuesday’s primary between Cornyn, Paxton, and Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX). Cornyn and Paxton will face off in a costly May 26 runoff that could drain Republican resources that the party wants to spend in races elsewhere.
“IT MUST STOP NOW! We have an easy to beat, Radical Left Opponent, and we have to TOTALLY FOCUS on putting him away, quickly and decisively!” Trump posted. “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! Is that fair? We must win in November!!!”
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Even before the runoff, the Texas Senate race was one of the most expensive in state history, with nearly $70 million in ads supporting Cornyn. The Senate GOP’s campaign arm, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), has been behind their incumbent from the start.
Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), the former NRSC chairman for the 2024 elections, said Cornyn presents a “sure path” to victory.
“It’s time for all to get behind John Cornyn,” Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) said. “Let’s now go spend our money someplace else.”
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Cornyn also has several Trumpworld heavyweights in his corner, such as former Trump campaign pollster Tony Fabrizio running his polling and former Trump political adviser Chris LaCivita at the helm of a pro-Cornyn super PAC.
But one aspect potentially working against Cornyn’s ability to win over supporters of Hunt in the runoff is allies accusing Hunt of running a spoiler campaign as Paxton openly courts those who voted for the congressman’s long-shot Senate bid.
The Thune-aligned Senate Leadership Fund super PAC assailed Hunt for running a “career-ending vanity tour without any substance or political reasoning.”
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In contrast, Paxton used part of his election night speech to “thank Wesley Hunt for being in this race.”
“Wesley served our country honorably in uniform, and I have no doubt he ran because he loves Texas and he wanted to continue serving our state,” he added.
David Sivak contributed to this report.