Big: Trump Endorses in the Texas Senate Runoff

The runoff race for the Texas Senate Primary is set for May 26 — just one week from today. Ahead of the primary, President Trump held off on endorsing any of the Republican contenders, and ultimately, incumbent Senator John Cornyn and current Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton found themselves heading to a runoff, with Cornyn garnering 41.9 percent of the vote and Paxton coming in with 40.7 percent.

On Tuesday, President Trump weighed in on the race via Truth Social, throwing his endorsement to Paxton.

NEW: Trump endorses AG Ken Paxton over incumbent Senator John Cornyn in the Texas GOP Senate primary runoff pic.twitter.com/qqsZmYtMWu
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 19, 2026

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Trump explained his decision:

The Highly Respected Attorney General of Texas, Ken Paxton, an America First Patriot, and someone who has always been extremely loyal to me and our AMAZING MAGA MOVEMENT, is running for the United States Senate, to represent a place I love and WON, BIG, three times, with 6.4 Million Votes in 2024 (The Most Votes in the History of the State, BY FAR)!
I know Ken well, have seen him tested at the highest and most difficult levels, and he is a WINNER! Ken is a Strong Supporter of TERMINATING THE FILIBUSTER and, very importantly, THE SAVE AMERICA ACT, something which polls at 87%, including Dumocrats, and yet can’t seem to get approved. Perhaps Ken can help move these important elements of Government forward because with the Filibuster, as an example, the Democrats will terminate it on their First Day in Office, giving us two extra States, D.C. and Puerto Rico, and a greatly enlarged Supreme Court of the United States, probably going with their Dream Number of 21 Justices from the 9 that we currently have — And these new Justices will be Radical Left Lunatics! Two years ago, our Country was DEAD — Now we have the “HOTTEST” Country anywhere in the World — And I want to keep it that way. Ken Paxton will help me do that, MAKING AMERICA BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!
Ken is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate. He will tirelessly fight to continue the Great Growth of our Economy, Cut Taxes and Regulations (I just delivered the Largest Tax and Regulation Cuts in American History!), and Advance MADE IN THE U.S.A., Unleash American Energy DOMINANCE, Champion Texas Oil & Gas, Advocate for our Amazing Farmers and Ranchers, Promote School Choice, Keep our Border SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime, Support our Incredible Military/Veterans, Safeguard our Elections, and Protect our always under siege Second Amendment.
John Cornyn is a good man, and I worked well with him, but he was not supportive of me when times were tough and, despite having the Most Successful Economy in the History of our Country during my First Term and, with all of the many other things that I accomplished (Secure Border, Military Dominance, Space Force, All Time High Stock Markets and 401(k)s, Record Job and Economic Growth, and so many other things that would be impossible to readily list!), which are considered by many to be legendary, John was very late in backing me in what turned out to be a Historic Run for the Republican Nomination, and then, the Presidency, itself, both of which were Landslide Victories and, more importantly, gave us the Country that we have today — THE GOLDEN AGE OF AMERICA (and when we finish up with Iran, which will not be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon, you will see numbers that have never been generated by our Country before!), as opposed to the DISASTER of the previous Administration.
Ken Paxton has gone through a lot, in many cases, very unfairly, but he is a Fighter, and knows how to WIN. Our Country needs Fighters, and also Loyalty to the Cause of Greatness. We can never allow what happened to the United States of America during the Corrupt Biden Administration, to happen again. In Texas alone, just look at the Border, with the Highest Level Criminals allowed to run through your State, totally unvetted and unchecked, through an Open Border Policy that was a Laughingstock all over the World. I came in, and fixed it, IMMEDIATELY. I will not permit those dark and dangerous days to come back! WE HAVE ALREADY MADE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, BUT NOW, WE WANT TO MAKE OUR NATION BETTER THAN EVER BEFORE. Therefore, Ken Paxton has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next United States Senator from the Great State of Texas – KEN PAXTON WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!
DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Ahead of the announcement, while addressing the press near the White House ballroom construction site, Trump stated that he'd be making the endorsement today.

🚨 BREAKING: President Trump endorses KEN PAXTON in the Texas US Senate Republican primary — a MASSIVE turn of events after John Thune and his allies were hoping for Cornyn

HUGE!!!

Time for MAGA to STORM THE POLLS!

"Ken is a Strong Supporter of TERMINATING THE FILIBUSTER and,… pic.twitter.com/WdF1PUlYvY
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 19, 2026

TRUMP: I think MAGA's never been more together, actually. I'm going to be making an endorsement today in Texas. I'm going to be putting out an endorsement in a little while in Texas — the great state.
You know I won Texas all six times, meaning primaries and the race, and I got the highest vote in the history of Texas. And I love Texas.
But I'm going to be making a endorsement at about 12:30, 1 o'clock today for the big race, the Senate race in Texas, and I hope you find it good.

This is a developing story.

Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.

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