President Donald Trump endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in Texas’ Republican Senate primary runoff on Tuesday, throwing his weight behind a radical ally and dealing a major blow to incumbent Senator John Cornyn a week before the state’s Election Day.
The endorsement gives Paxton a big boost in one of the GOP’s most-watched Senate primaries, a race that has become a test of Trump’s hold on Republican voters and the strength of the Senate GOP establishment.
Trump said, “Ken is a true MAGA warrior who has always worked for Texas and will continue to do so in the United States Senate. He will fight tirelessly to continue the great growth of our economy, cutting taxes and regulations.” Truth said in social post. “Ken Paxton has been through a lot, in many cases, very unfairly, but he is a fighter, and knows how to win. Our country needs fighters, and also loyalty to greatness.”
The May 26 runoff pits Paxton, a longtime Trump ally, against Cornyn, who has served four terms in the Senate since 2003. Early voting began on Monday and will continue till Friday.
The Texas race is the latest example of Trump expanding his influence in Republican primaries as he takes steps to punish lawmakers he deems insufficiently loyal and reward candidates aligned with his political movement.
“John Cornyn is a good man, and I worked well with him, but he did not support me when times were tough and despite having the most successful economy in the history of our country and many other things I accomplished during my first term.” Trump posted.
This is the third major GOP primary race in a short time where Trump has made an impact.
Trump helped end the re-election bid of Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, who voted to convict him in his second impeachment, and is supporting former Navy SEAL Ed Galren, who is challenging Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., in Tuesday’s Republican primary. Massie has frequently broken with Trump and House GOP leadership.
Those contests have become a referendum on Trump’s hold on the Republican Party ahead of the 2026 midterms. While Trump’s overall approval ratings have weakened, he remains deeply popular among Republican voters, reducing the strength of his support in the primaries.’
In the final stretch until Election Day, Cornyn expressed his support for Trump, writing x on monday that he has 99.3% voting record With the President. Cornyn is relying on the support of the Senate Republican leadership and outside allies, who have spent more than $60 million to help protect him. reuters.
Paxton, meanwhile, has sought to portray Cornyn as a creature of the Washington establishment, while Cornyn has attacked Paxton as being unfit for office, pointing to his years of legal and political controversy, including his 2023 impeachment by the Texas House. Paxton was later acquitted by the Texas Senate.
Polling shows that there is a close contest between the two men.
A statewide survey From University of Houston Hobby School of Public AffairsThe poll, conducted from April 28 to May 1, found Paxton leading Cornyn 48% to 45% among likely runoff voters, slightly outside the poll’s margin of error.
The winner of the runoff will face Democratic nominee James Tallarico in November.
State Representative Tallarico, 37, defeated Representative Jasmine Crockett in the March Democratic primary and has recorded strong fundraising figures, including more than $27 million raised in the first quarter, according to her campaign.
Republicans are still favored to capture the Texas seat, but Democrats have pointed to the serious GOP primary as a potential opening.
One Texas Southern University Survey released on Monday Tallarico found himself in the closest hypothetical race against any Republican: Cornyn led Tallarico 45% to 44%, while Paxton and Tallarico were tied at 45%.
Trump won Texas by about 14 percentage points in 2024.