President Trump finally announced who would receive his coveted endorsement as early voting in the Texas State battle kicks off.
President Trump officially endorsed Ken Paxton on Tuesday, bucking establishment Republicans.
Incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) appeared Monday to have given up any hope of receiving an endorsement from President Trump.
“I think that ship has finally sailed,” Cornyn said after voting in Austin, Texas, according to the Austin American-Statesman’s John Moritz.
The incumbent senator noted, though, that he would welcome a campaign visit by the president in the fall if he wins the runoff over Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R).
Trump on Monday endorsed more than two dozen Republican candidates in races across the country but notably did not pick a favorite in the runoff between Cornyn and Paxton.
However, Trump teased on Tuesday morning that he ultimately would make an endorsement, saying he’s known who he would throw his support behind for a while but kept it under wraps.
Shortly after Cornyn and Paxton advanced to the runoff in March, Trump said he would endorse a candidate and asked that the candiate he did not back to drop out of the race. Despite Paxton’s hard-line support for the president, he vowed he would not to drop out.
Cornyn recently has touted his support for Trump. He wrote Monday on the social platform X that he has a 99.3 percent voting record with the president’s position and is “proud of what we have accomplished together.”
His pinned post on his X account is also a photo of him and Trump on the campaign trail in 2024.
The winner of the runoff will take on Democrat nominee James Talarico, who defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) in the March primary.
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