Peloni: As the Senate Republicans refused to pass any of a number of Trump’s legislative bills, Trump moved to forego supporting the safe choice of endorsing Sen. Cornyn, who is a personal ally of the Republican leadership in the Senate. The consequence of this is that Trump endorsed Texas AG Ken Paxton who is trailing by about 1.5% in the polls as compared to Cornyn in the general election. The result of this will mean that Paxton will need more money to support his campaign, and the likelihood is that the Republican Senatorial fund, which is controlled by the head of the Senate, Sen. Thune, will offer Paxton less money than they would have for Cornyn, while claiming that his candidacy is not viable. This is the same scenario which has been run in past elections which led to electoral defeats by Trump endorsed congressional candidates who opposed the establishment, as does Paxton. This will be an interesting election to watch as Paxton has been a long standing opponent to the Bush party machine in Texas which previously led to Paxton being impeached on silly charges.
By Pamela Geller |
Texas AG Ken Paxton. Photo by Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America – Ken Paxton, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikipedia
Purge the turncoats. John Cornyn betrayed Republican voters to block the Save America Act. President Trump is doing what his voters want by helping remove a Republican traitor. (C3)
John Cornyn was first elected to the Senate in 2002. Yesterday, President Trump endorsed his opponent, current Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the runoff election that will be held next week on Tuesday (Houston).
Clownish CNN reports on how it unfolded:
It seemed like the end of the road for Ken Paxton. The Texas attorney general had underperformed expectations in the state’s March 3 Republican primary for Senate, narrowly trailing long-endangered incumbent Sen. John Cornyn. Trump was on the verge of endorsing Cornyn, promising to make a choice “soon” and demanding that the candidate he did not endorse drop out. Paxton had made clear he would not abide by such an arrangement, something Trump said was a “bad” move by Paxton. So Paxton tried something new: At 12:18 p.m. on March 5, he posted on X that he would consider dropping out if Senate Republicans abolished the filibuster to pass the Save America Act, a Trump priority bill to impose new voter ID restrictions. Paxton texted Trump the post to make sure he saw it. It was a “Hail Mary,” as one person familiar with the matter put it, but it appeared to pay off. Trump was already frustrated that his intentions to endorse Cornyn had been leaked and allies had been calling nonstop to tell him that a Cornyn endorsement would be a betrayal to his loyal base. Trump held off on endorsing in the runoff for 75 days — and then on Tuesday, Trump abruptly gave his support to Paxton (CNN).
Trump endorses Ken Paxton over incumbent John Cornyn in Texas Senate primary runoff
By: Stephen Fowler, Claudia Grisales, May 19, 2026
President Trump has endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the Texas GOP runoff for U.S. Senate, one week before voting ends in the contentious and expensive primary.
“Ken Paxton has gone through a lot, in many cases, very unfairly, but he is a Fighter, and knows how to WIN.” Trump wrote in part on social media. “Our Country needs Fighters, and also Loyalty to the Cause of Greatness.”
Trump’s last-minute move to back Paxton is an effort to essentially end the race after weeks of a bruising fight in a state Democrats see as a potential stretch pickup opportunity in November.
A day earlier, Cornyn said he didn’t expect Trump to weigh in on the race.“I think that ship has probably sailed,” Cornyn told reporters after he voted at a polling site in far South Austin Monday, the first full day of the state’s early voting for runoffs in the primaries.
At the time, Cornyn said he would love for Trump to campaign on his behalf, but believed the president did not want to alienate certain voters by picking sides.
“We’re not slowing down,” Cornyn said in the midst of a packed campaign schedule on Monday.
On Tuesday, Cornyn’s team said they are sticking to that plan, including a long list of stops in several major metro areas in the coming days.
Ahead of the endorsement, Brandon Rottinghaus, politics professor at the University of Houston, said Paxton’s slight lead in the polls and their ideological proximity would be key.
“Trump likes to back winners, so I think he waited for the race to materialize,” Rottinghaus said. “Paxton has been among the most aggressive legal and political defenders of the president. So having the capacity to have something like that in office has value to him, too.”
Cornyn, Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt each vied for Trump’s endorsement ahead of the March 3rd primary election, but the president declined to pick any one of them, noting that he liked all three candidates.
Paxton argued that Cornyn was not in touch with Trump’s MAGA base and the direction of the Republican Party. Cornyn’s campaign highlighted a series of scandals that have plagued Paxton, including his wife filing for divorce on “biblical grounds,” a felony indictment for securities fraud that was later settled and an impeachment vote in 2023, where he was later acquitted.
The Texas race has become the most expensive Senate primary in U.S. history, with both parties spending well over $100 million total so far. That number will continue to climb as Democrats look to capitalize on Trump’s unpopularity to make a play in several Republican-held Senate seats.
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