Republicans’ congressional majority is at risk, and all eyes are on President Donald Trump to endorse the most electable candidate in the upcoming Texas GOP Senate primary runoff.
Trump is split between the Republican establishment and his MAGA base in the race between Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The president’s typically loyal MAGA followers are pushing him to endorse the scandal-ridden Paxton ahead of the incredibly expensive May 26 runoff.
The president threatens to further alienate his base if he goes against them in this runoff. Many MAGA leaders and activists are already divided over the president’s military operation in Iran, so the pressure is on.
Staunch Trump supporters Laura Loomer and Steve Bannon have endorsed Paxton. Loomer has repeatedly called Cornyn a RINO and posted clips of him pushing back against Trump on X.
“Remember when Jasmine Crockett said Senator John Cornyn only pretends to be MAGA, and she referred to Cornyn as her ‘friend?’“ she posted on March 6. ”I do. Protect President Trump! Do not endorse Cornyn!"
She told Axios that MAGA “would likely stay home during the midterms” if Trump endorsed Cornyn.
Cornyn campaign senior advisor Matt Mackowiak told The Daily Beast that the senator, who pulled just ahead of Paxton in the initial primary vote but did not win a majority, “over-performed all expectations” during this campaign.
“Sen. Cornyn has voted with President Trump 99.3% of the time and is one of his most effective allies in the Senate,” Mackowiak said. “Democrats nominated their strongest candidate for U.S. Senate, will Texas Republicans nominate John Cornyn who is our strongest nominee by far?”
The Daily Beast reached out to representatives for Paxton and the White House for comment.
Cornyn has held his Senate seat since 2002. He appears to be trying to gain the president’s favor by throwing his support behind the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE, Act. The president has threatened to stop signing bills into law if Congress doesn’t pass the SAVE Act. Cornyn wrote an op-ed agreeing to abolish the filibuster, a process he has long defended, in order to push the president’s agenda through.
The SAVE Act would mandate a photo ID to vote, require people to submit proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote, and grant the Department of Homeland Security access to states’ voter rolls. Democrats, voting rights advocates, and policy experts have pushed back on the act, saying it will disenfranchise voters by putting costly barriers to civic engagement.
Meanwhile, Paxton has raised concerns about electability among top Republican leaders. The state AG stirred controversy after rumors that he had an affair with a married mother of seven surfaced, which were later used in an attack ad by Cornyn. The ad also alleges that Paxton gave money to left-wing organizations.
Paxton was also at the center of a high-profile impeachment trial over corruption charges. While the Texas House impeached him, the state Senate did not.
The president appears to be playing both sides of the fence, as he has refused to endorse either candidate. He promised on March 6 that he would make a decision soon and said on Truth Social that he would be “asking the candidate that I don’t Endorse to immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE!”
Trump still had not made a decision when speaking with NBC News on Saturday. He said that he’d “let you know that over the next week or so.” He also stressed the electability of both candidates while dismissing Democratic candidate James Talarico.
The president shared his appreciation for Cornyn’s support for the SAVE Act and said he “always liked” the senator. However, he said he “heard” concerns over the incumbent’s prospects. Trump was not concerned about Paxton’s drama.
“I think they both win,” Trump told NBC News.
