Trump Says He Will Make Endorsement in Texas Senate Race ‘Soon,’ Demands Other GOP Candidate Quit the Race

After no candidate received a majority of the vote in Tuesday’s Republican Texas Senate primary, President Trump says he will be endorsing a candidate in the race “soon,” even though the GOP is set to have a runoff between Senator John Cornyn and state attorney general Ken Paxton. Once that endorsement is issued, Mr. Trump says whoever he does not endorse should drop out of the race. Texas voters went to the polls on Tuesday in the first primaries of the 2026 elections, and it’s clear Democrats are more motivated to vote than their Republican brethren. As of Wednesday, more than 2.3 million Democratic votes were cast in the party’s competitive Senate primary, while only 2.1 million were cast in the GOP’s three-way contest. Mr. Trump won the state by 13 points in 2024. Both Messrs. Cornyn and Paxton have promised to fight it out until the end of May, when the two-candidate runoff will be held. The concerns for Republicans, however, are that the runoff will become a major drain of resources that are much-needed for November, and that it could further divide the GOP base in what could be a competitive U.S. Senate race in the state. In a Truth Social post on Wednesday morning, it was clear that Mr. Trump wants his party to move on from its internal battles and head into November united. “The Republican Primary Race for the United States Senate in the Great State of Texas … cannot, for the good of the Party, and our Country, itself, be allowed to go on any longer. IT MUST STOP NOW!” the president wrote on Wednesday. “We have an easy to beat, Radical Left Opponent, and we have to TOTALLY FOCUS on putting him away, quickly and decisively!” he added. Mr. Trump praised Messrs. Cornyn and Paxton for running “great races,” though he says he needs to weigh in in order to end the primary contest swiftly. “My Endorsements within the Republican Party have been virtually insurmountable!” he wrote. “I will be making my Endorsement soon, and will be asking the candidate that I don’t Endorse to immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE! Is that fair? We must win in November!!!”Shortly after that statement went out, the Atlantic reported that Mr. Trump’s political advisors believe he will give his blessing to Mr. Cornyn, who has represented Texas in the Senate since 2003. Republicans’ desire to put this race behind them has intensified in the last 12 hours, after state representative James Talarico was declared the winner early Wednesday morning. Unlike Messrs. Cornyn and Paxton — who made no attempt to hide their deep, personal dislike of each other — Mr. Talarico and his primary opponent, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, demonstrated a more cordial relationship. On Wednesday, Ms. Crockett says she spoke to Mr. Talarico to offer her support. “Texas is primed to turn blue and we must remain united because this is bigger than any one person,” Ms. Crockett said in a statement. “This is about the future of all 30 million Texans and getting America back on track. With the primary behind us, Democrats must rally around our nominees and win.”Mr. Talarico’s strength among Hispanic voters in the southern and western parts of the state are also a major concern for the GOP as Mr. Trump’s deportation operations grow increasingly unpopular across the country. In 2025, Hispanic voters swung significantly back toward the Democrats in a number of elections despite Mr. Trump’s major gains with that demographic in 2024. Texas Democrats are also poised to raise tens of millions of dollars for their election operation this year. Mr. Talarico alone has already raised $20 million, and is sure to get another major influx of cash in the next few days. For comparison, Mr. Cornyn raised just $11 million for his Republican primary bid, though he was also the beneficiary of tens of millions of dollars in outside spending. If Mr. Trump is considering general election polling as an important factor in his endorsement, then he is almost certain to choose Mr. Cornyn. Polls have consistently shown that Mr. Cornyn beats Mr. Talarico in the general election by anywhere from two to four points, while Mr. Paxton leads Mr. Talarico by only a single point in many surveys.

Trump Says He Will Make Endorsement in Texas Senate Race ‘Soon,’ Demands Other GOP Candidate Quit the Race

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