By Emmanuel Bobby
President Donald Trump has endorsed Ken Paxton in the high-stakes Republican Senate runoff in Texas, delivering a potentially devastating political setback to longtime Sen. John Cornyn and dramatically reshaping one of the most closely watched GOP primary battles in the country.
Trump announced his endorsement in a lengthy post on Truth Social, praising Paxton as a loyal ally and committed supporter of the MAGA movement.
“Ken is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate,” Trump wrote.
While Trump stopped short of launching a full attack on Cornyn, his comments made clear where his loyalties now stand.
“John Cornyn is a good man, and I worked well with him, but he was not supportive of me when times were tough,” Trump added.
The endorsement immediately transformed the race, injecting enormous momentum into Paxton’s campaign just days after early voting began in the runoff election scheduled for May 26.
Cornyn and Paxton advanced to the runoff after neither candidate secured a majority in the March Republican primary. Cornyn narrowly finished ahead with 42% of the vote compared with Paxton’s 41%, setting up a tense and deeply divisive second round between two powerful figures within Texas Republican politics.
The eventual Republican nominee is expected to face Democratic candidate James Talarico in the general election this fall.
Trump’s endorsement is widely considered the most influential force in modern Republican primary politics, particularly among conservative grassroots voters. Political observers say the president’s backing could potentially end Cornyn’s decades-long career in public office.
Cornyn has served four terms in the Senate and previously held several major positions in Texas government, including state attorney general, justice on the Texas Supreme Court and district court judge.
The endorsement also reinforces Trump’s growing pattern of targeting Republicans perceived as insufficiently loyal to him or his political movement.
Only days earlier, Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy lost his Republican primary after Trump backed an opposing candidate.
Paxton reacted enthusiastically to the endorsement, posting on social media that he was “incredibly honored” to receive Trump’s support.
“I look forward to championing his America First agenda in the Senate!” Paxton wrote, urging Texans to vote in the runoff election.
Trump’s decision to back Paxton followed weeks of speculation about whether he would formally intervene in the race.
After the March primary, Trump initially appeared inclined to support Cornyn. However, he later connected his endorsement decision to support for the proposed SAVE America Act, a sweeping elections measure backed by Trump allies that would overhaul several aspects of federal voting law.
Paxton aligned himself closely with Trump’s demands and suggested he would even consider leaving the race if Senate Republicans agreed to eliminate the legislative filibuster in order to pass the bill.
Cornyn attempted to downplay the significance of Trump’s endorsement in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter.
The senator emphasized that he has consistently supported Trump’s agenda while arguing that Republican voters now face a choice between electing a strong statewide candidate or risking broader GOP losses.
“It is now time for Texas Republican voters to decide if they want a strong nominee to help our GOP candidates down ballot and defeat Talarico in November, or a weak nominee who jeopardizes everything we care about,” Cornyn wrote.
Behind the scenes, several influential Trump allies reportedly pushed aggressively for the endorsement.
Steve Bannon, a longtime Trump adviser who publicly backed Paxton, said polling showing Paxton gaining strength in the race helped persuade Trump to intervene.
Bannon also claimed that Trump allies worked to remind the president about critical comments Cornyn had made about him in previous years.
“This is as much a vote of no confidence in John Thune as it is a vote of confidence in Ken Paxton,” Bannon said, referring to John Thune and Senate Republicans who reportedly encouraged Trump to support Cornyn instead.
According to individuals close to Trump, the president was also encouraged by recent successes involving his endorsed candidates in other Republican primaries nationwide.
Despite Paxton’s growing momentum among MAGA voters, many Republican leaders remain deeply concerned about his political liabilities in a general election.
Paxton has faced years of controversy surrounding his personal conduct and professional ethics.
In 2023, the Texas House impeached Paxton on allegations involving bribery and corruption, though he was later acquitted by the Texas Senate. His political troubles were further complicated last year when his wife publicly announced she was divorcing him on what she described as “biblical grounds.”
Cornyn and his allies have repeatedly argued that Paxton’s controversies could endanger Republican control of the Senate seat and weaken GOP candidates farther down the ballot.
“I refuse to allow a flawed, self-centered, and shameless candidate like Ken Paxton risk everything we’ve worked so hard to build over these many years,” Cornyn said after the March primary results became official.
He warned that the final years of Trump’s second-term agenda could depend on Republicans maintaining strong Senate candidates in competitive races.
Several Republican senators also expressed concern following Trump’s endorsement.
Lindsey Graham suggested Republicans could face a much more expensive and difficult general election campaign if Paxton becomes the nominee.
“You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out the pathway for Paxton is there, but it’s more uphill,” Graham told reporters.
Meanwhile, Susan Collins openly criticized Trump’s decision, describing Paxton as “an ethically challenged individual.”
Collins argued that Cornyn deserved the president’s support because of his long Senate record and leadership experience.
Not all Republicans shared those concerns, however.
Wesley Hunt, who finished third in the March primary, quickly endorsed Paxton following Trump’s announcement.
Paxton has built much of his campaign around portraying himself as Trump’s most loyal ally in Texas politics. His supporters frequently compare his legal and political battles to Trump’s own history of investigations and impeachments.
Throughout the campaign, Paxton repeatedly criticized Cornyn for supporting bipartisan gun legislation after mass shootings, including the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde. He also highlighted Cornyn’s past criticism of Trump, including comments suggesting Trump was no longer the Republican Party’s strongest presidential candidate.
Cornyn eventually endorsed Trump, but Paxton has used the earlier criticism to question the senator’s loyalty to the MAGA movement.
During his election night speech after the March primary, Paxton reminded supporters that he stood by Trump even when many Republican leaders distanced themselves from him after disappointing midterm results in 2022.
“The establishment, the media and most Republican elected officials in America were lining up against him. Not me,” Paxton told supporters.
Paxton later declared that Washington needed reinforcements for both Trump and fellow Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
“And I’m running to do just that,” he said.
With Trump now firmly behind him, Paxton enters the runoff with major momentum and a transformed political landscape, while Cornyn faces perhaps the greatest threat of his long political career.