Trump endorses Ken Paxton over incumbent John Cornyn in Texas Senate primary runoff

Former President Donald Trump (right) shakes hands with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton at an October 2022 rally in Robstown, Texas. Nick Wagner/AP hide caption

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."

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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.

Cornyn campaign continues

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."

Analysis: Why the Cornyn-Paxton runoff could be a 'nightmare scenario' for Republicans | TPR

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.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks on the fourth day of confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Greg Nash/Pool/Getty Images hide caption

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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State Rep. James Talarico won the Democratic nomination outright against 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 running against: the billionaire mega-donors and their corrupt political system," Talarico said Tuesday in response to Trump endorsing Paxton. "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."

Trump's endorsement may carry risks for the Republican party

Some voters and analysts have warned that Paxton's polarizing past could cost Republicans in the long-run.

Toni Farrell, an independent voter from Meadow, Texas, a town outside of Lubbock, is one of those voters.

She told NPR before Trump's endorsement that she supports Cornyn because she wants to see more moderate Republicans elected to office. She voted for Cornyn in the primary election and plans to do the same in the run-off.

"Ken Paxton – He's not somebody that I believe in his character. I do not," said Farrell, 70. So Cornyn is my guy."

If Cornyn advances to the general election, Farrell said she plans to stick with him. But if Paxton wins out, she said she would vote for Democratic candidate James Talarico.

"It's a feeding trough in Washington – you know, each state shows up like the cows so that they get their part of the federal dollars," Farrell said. "If we send Talarico, he's the new cow and he'll be at the back of the line, whereas Cornyn, he's a senior cow. He'll be at the front of the line.

"Paxton is also a new guy to Washington. He doesn't have any connections. So if I'm choosing between the two new cows, I'm choosing the one with moral values."

"[Paxton] does not have moral values in my mind."

The day after the primary, Trump posted on his Truth Social account that the runoff "MUST STOP NOW" so Republicans could focus on the November contest against Talarico. He also wrote that the candidate that did not receive his approval must "immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE."

"My Endorsements within the Republican Party have been virtually insurmountable!" Trump wrote. "It is such an honor to realize and say that almost everyone I Endorse WINS, and wins by a lot, especially in Texas!"

In the March 3 primaries in Texas, North Carolina and Arkansas, all but five of Trump's endorsements won outright or faced no challenger. Only one, embattled Rep. Tony Gonzales , was not the first place finisher.

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Over the weekend, Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow and Louisiana state treasurer John Fleming advanced to a runoff for the state's U.S. Senate race, defeating incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy.

Trump is also involved in Tuesday's primary in Kentucky, where Thomas Massie, a sitting Republican who has clashed with the president, hopes to fend off Ed Gallrein.

NPR's Lexie Schapitl contributed to this story.