President Donald Trump made his long-awaited endorsement in the Texas Senate primary, giving Attorney General Ken Paxton a boost ahead of the May 26 runoff.
“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 a Truth Social post. “Our Country needs Fighters, and also Loyalty to the Cause of Greatness.
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“I know Ken well, have seen him tested at the highest and most difficult levels, and he is a WINNER! Ken is a Strong Supporter of TERMINATING THE FILIBUSTER and, very importantly, THE SAVE AMERICA ACT, something which polls at 87%, including Dumocrats, and yet can’t seem to get approved.”
Paxton responded to the endorsement, saying he is “incredibly honored to have President Trump’s COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT.”
Trump’s endorsement comes as Paxton will face longtime Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) in a competitive runoff, after neither candidate received 50% of the votes in the March 3 primary.
Trump called Cornyn a “good man” but said he “was not supportive” when “times were tough.”
Cornyn responded to the president’s choice to back Paxton, saying he trusts the Republican voters in Texas.
“I have worked closely with President Trump through both of his Presidential terms and voted with him more than 99% of the time,” Cornyn said. “He has consistently called me a friend in this race. 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 [Democratic nominee James] Talarico in November, or a weak nominee who jeopardizes everything we care about. I trust the Republican voters of Texas.”
The president has been teasing an endorsement in this race for months. Cornyn even said during a Monday event in Texas that he believed the ship had “finally sailed” on the president backing anyone in the race.
Both Cornyn and Paxton have been vying for the president’s endorsement since the race began last year.
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The two have been locked in a tight runoff for the past two months. Cornyn won 42% of the vote to Paxton’s 40.5% in the primary. Because neither candidate got more than 50%, the contest went to a runoff as required by Texas law. The winner will face Democratic Texas state Rep. James Talarico.
“As I said on primary night, it doesn’t matter who wins this runoff,” Talarico said in a statement. “We already know who we’re running against: the billionaire mega-donors and their corrupt political system. For decades, John Cornyn and Ken Paxton have embodied a broken politics that enriches wealthy donors while costs skyrocket for the rest of us. Our movement to take back Texas for working people rises above party politics — because the biggest fight in this country is not left versus right, it’s top versus bottom.”
