President Donald Trump said he would endorse a candidate in the contentious Republican Senate runoff in Texas as early as Tuesday afternoon.
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What they’re saying:
“I’m going to be making an endorsement today. In Texas,” the president told reporters Tuesday morning. “For the big race, the senate race in Texas.”
The planned endorsement comes as early voting for the runoff election is underway.
Incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton have been locked in a battle for the nomination, with both sides calling the other unfit for office, while seeking the coveted presidential endorsement.
The president has said good things about both Cornyn and Paxton, and has not made an endorsement in the race, despite a promise to do so.
Paxton has slammed Cornyn for saying in 2020 that time has passed Trump and that he would hurt the Republican Party. Since those comments, Cornyn has been in lockstep with the president.
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Cornyn trailed in the polls leading up to the March primary. But once the ballots were counted, he had more votes than Paxton.
James Talarico’s poll numbers
By the numbers:
The winner of the runoff will face Democratic challenger, James Talarico, in the general election.
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A new poll out on Monday from Texas Southern University shows the potential head-to-head with Talarico.
The poll shows Cornyn with a one-point lead over Talarico, while Paxton is tied with the Democratic state representative.
Those results are within the margin of error, and show just how tight the race could be in November.
Paxton campaigns in North Texas
Paxton will make a stop in Allen on Tuesday to campaign with Lone Star Liberty PAC in a effort to push voters to the polls for the runoff.
The rally is part of seven stops for Lone Star Liberty.
Will Trump’s endorsement shift the race?
What they’re saying:
“There are those that say whoever I endorse is going to win,” Trump said. “I don’t know if that’s true. Historically that’s absolutely true.”
Trump went on to say he’s known who he would endorse for “a long time.”
Statistically speaking for the 2026 primaries, the president is correct in saying his endorsements led to victories.
Candidates endorsed by Trump in the 2026 primaries won 24 of 28 elections in Texas. Three others are currently in runoff elections. Two of those candidates received the highest number of votes in the primary.
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