WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump heightened the stakes in Texas’ bruising Republican Senate runoff, saying he plans to endorse Sen. John Cornyn or Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday, a long-awaited move that could test how much sway his political brand still holds in the state.
Trump made the remarks while speaking to White House reporters about construction of a new ballroom and recent Republican primaries involving candidates he has backed against incumbents who crossed him.
“I’m going to be making an endorsement today in Texas,” Trump added, saying he would make the announcement about 11:30 a.m. CT.
He highlighted his Lone Star success across Republican primaries and general elections. “I got the highest vote in the history of Texas,” Trump said. “And I love Texas.”
The announcement comes in one of the nation’s most expensive and personal Senate primaries. Cornyn and Paxton have spent months trying to prove themselves as Trump’s strongest ally while attacking each other over scandals, loyalty and electability.
Trump’s intervention in the May 26 runoff comes unusually late in the contest. Early voting already has started and many Republican voters have largely settled into camps behind Cornyn or Paxton after months of attacks and competing appeals to conservative voters.
Trump has teased a potential endorsement throughout the race, while typically adding the decision has been difficult because he likes both Cornyn and Paxton.
Cornyn allies argue the longtime senator is better positioned for a general election, while Paxton supporters contend the attorney general better matches the confrontational style and populist politics that now dominate much of the Texas GOP.
Cornyn edged Paxton in the March primary but was short of a majority, triggering the intraparty runoff. Trump said shortly after the votes were tallied that he would make an endorsement and expected the other candidate to withdraw from the race.
Trump framed the endorsement at the time as an effort to halt the Republican infighting, saying the runoff “cannot, for the good of the Party, and our Country, itself, be allowed to go on any longer,” while also hinting he could pressure the losing candidate to step aside.
Paxton offered to consider withdrawing if Cornyn and Senate Republicans passed voter ID requirements known as the SAVE America Act, a Trump priority.
Trump delayed an announcement as he leaned into pushing Republicans to get the SAVE America Act passed. The bill has remained stalled in the Senate despite those efforts.
Early voting wraps up Friday. That timing could limit how much even a Trump endorsement reshapes the race, particularly in a low-turnout runoff and a divided Texas electorate.
Who Trump picks could reshape not only the runoff’s closing stretch but also Republican prospects heading into November against Democrat James Talarico.
This is a developing story and will be updated.