Trump endorses Ken Paxton in Texas Senate primary runoff : NPR
Former President Donald Trump (R) shakes hands with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton during an October 2022 rally in Robstown, Texas.
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Former President Donald Trump (R) shakes hands with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton during an October 2022 rally in Robstown, Texas.
Nick Wagner/AP
President Trump endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the Texas Republican Party’s runoff for U.S. Senate, a week before voting in the controversial and costly primary ended.
“Ken Paxton has been through a lot, in many cases very unfairly, but he is a fighter and he knows how to WIN.” Trump wrote in part on social media. “Our country needs fighters, but also loyalty to the cause of greatness.”
Trump’s last-minute decision to support Paxton is an effort to essentially end the race after weeks of bruising fighting in a state that Democrats view as a potential opportunity for a November takeover.
Analysis: Why the Cornyn-Paxton runoff could be a ‘nightmare scenario’ for Republicans | TPR
Cornyn, Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt were each vying for Trump’s support ahead of the primary election, but the president declined to choose any one of them, noting that he liked all three candidates.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks on the fourth day of confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett.
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Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks on the fourth day of confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett.
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Paxton argued that Cornyn was out of touch with Trump’s MAGA base and Republican Party leadership. Cornyn’s campaign highlighted a series of scandals that plagued Paxton, including his wife filing for divorce on “biblical grounds,” a securities fraud indictment 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 in total so far. That number will continue to climb as Democrats seek to capitalize on Trump’s unpopularity to win several Republican seats in the Senate.
State Rep. James Talarico won the Democratic nomination over Rep. Jasmine Crockett and another challenger.
“As I said on primary night, it doesn’t matter who wins this runoff. We already know who we’re up against: billionaire mega-donors and their corrupt political system,” Talarico said Tuesday in response to Trump’s support for Paxton. “Our movement to take back Texas from working people rises above party politics – because the greatest fight in this country is not left versus right, but top versus bottom.”
The day after the primary, Trump posted on his Truth Social account that the runoff “MUST STOP NOW” so Republicans can focus on the November fight against Talarico. He also wrote that the candidate who has not received his endorsement should “immediately drop out of the race.”
“My support within the Republican Party has been virtually insurmountable!” Trump wrote. “It’s such an honor to realize and say that almost everyone I support WINS, and wins big, especially in Texas!”
In the March 3 primaries in Texas, North Carolina and Arkansas, all but five of Trump’s endorsements either won outright or faced no challengers. Only one, embattled Rep. Tony Gonzales, did not finish first.
Over the weekend, Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow and Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming advanced to a runoff in the U.S. Senate race, defeating incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy.
Trump is also involved in Tuesday’s primary in Kentucky, where Thomas Massie, a Republican incumbent who has clashed with the president, hopes to fend off Ed Gallrein.
