The three leading candidates in the competitive Texas Senate Republican primary have all been invited to join President Trump’s Friday stop in Corpus Christi, just days ahead of the Lone Star State’s Tuesday primaries.
Although Trump is visiting the state in an official capacity, observers are eager to see if the president will address the closely watched Senate race, in which he has yet to endorse.
Incumbent Sen. Jon Cornyn (R), state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) and Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) were invited to the Friday event, a White House official confirmed to The Hill, as they battle for the GOP nod.
Paxton boasts a lead over Cornyn — roughly 39 percent to 34 percent — according to Decision Desk HQ’s latest polling aggregate. Neither candidate, though, appears poised to secure the support he needs to win the primary outright and avoid a May runoff. Hunt is pulling in roughly 17 percent support.
Trump told reporters earlier this month that he was taking a “serious look” at endorsing, and later said that he likes “all three of them, actually.”
Experts are unsure whether a Trump endorsement is on the horizon and whether he’d make it before or after the primary.
Friday’s trip is Trump’s first public event since delivering his State of the Union address on Tuesday.
“President Trump looks forward to returning to the great State of Texas this week to discuss the economy and tout his ‘Drill Baby Drill’ agenda,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to The Hill.
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