President Donald Trump endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday in the state’s high-profile Republican Senate runoff, handing a major boost to the conservative firebrand as he battles longtime Sen. John Cornyn for the GOP nomination.
Trump announced the endorsement just days before the May 26 runoff election, ending months of speculation over whether he would back Paxton, one of his closest allies in Texas politics, or Cornyn, a veteran senator who has occasionally clashed with the MAGA wing of the party.
“Ken Paxton has been a tremendous Attorney General for the Great State of Texas,” Trump said in a statement. “He has fought tirelessly for Election Integrity, Border Security, our always under siege Second Amendment, and so much else.”
Trump added that Paxton “will never let you down.”
The endorsement lands at a critical point in one of the nastiest Republican Senate primaries in the country. Neither candidate secured a majority in the March primary, forcing the runoff between Cornyn and Paxton.
Cornyn, who has represented Texas in the Senate since 2003, has spent months warning Republicans that Paxton could put the seat at risk in November because of his legal baggage and past scandals.
Paxton was impeached by the Republican-controlled Texas House in 2023 on corruption-related allegations but was later acquitted by the Texas Senate. He has consistently denied wrongdoing.
The Texas attorney general has attacked Cornyn from the right throughout the campaign, accusing the senator of being too close to the Washington establishment and criticizing his support for bipartisan gun legislation following the 2022 Uvalde school shooting, as well as U.S. aid packages for Ukraine.
The race has become a major proxy fight inside the Republican Party between establishment conservatives and Trump-aligned populists.
Recent polling suggested the runoff was tightening heading into the final week. A University of Houston Hobby School survey released earlier this month found Paxton leading Cornyn 48% to 45% among likely Republican runoff voters, a margin within the poll’s error range.
Trump had largely stayed on the sidelines during the primary, repeatedly saying he liked both candidates. Last week, he told reporters he would “maybe make a decision” on an endorsement.
By Tuesday, Trump made clear he was siding with Paxton.
The winner of the Republican runoff will face Democrat James Talarico in November as Democrats try to make the Texas Senate race more competitive than usual in the deep-red state.
