Trump Endorses GOP Senate Rivals Against Cassidy, Cornyn
Trump endorsed Texas AG Ken Paxton over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn one week before their May 26 runoff, testing his sway over GOP voters.
Objective Facts
President Donald Trump endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the state's Republican Senate primary runoff against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, with the endorsement providing Paxton a major boost one week before the May 26 runoff election which has become a test of Trump's sway over GOP voters. Trump's endorsement came after his endorsement helped oust Sen. Bill Cassidy in Louisiana's primary last weekend. Trump stated that Cornyn 'was not supportive of me when times were tough' and referenced how Cornyn was late in backing him in his 2024 campaign, appearing to allude to Cornyn's 2023 statement that Trump's time had 'passed him by.' The endorsement strategy sparked tensions within Senate GOP leadership, as the White House simultaneously pressed Senate Republicans to authorize $1 billion for Trump's new ballroom and Secret Service, and when the Senate parliamentarian ruled the money could not be included in Republicans' broader legislative package, Trump publicly called for her firing. Democrats view the endorsement as a potential opening, with Democrats hoping Trump's intervention will upend the fight for Senate control in Texas.
Left-Leaning Perspective
MSNBC's Steve Benen, a producer for 'The Rachel Maddow Show,' wrote that 'it's easy to imagine' Trump is increasingly emboldened after orchestrating defeats of Cassidy and Indiana state senators, appearing to have embraced a mentality of 'I'll do whatever I want, whenever I want, for any reason I want,' demonstrating no real regard for whether his decisions help himself or his party. Democratic nominee James Talarico and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee capitalized on the opportunity, with Talarico saying 'it doesn't matter who wins this runoff' and that 'we already know who we're running against: the billionaire mega-donors and their corrupt political system,' while national Democratic groups used the endorsement news to tout Talarico's campaign strength. Atlantic writer Elaine Godfrey noted that Trump is 'throwing his political weight behind Paxton—a man who has been indicted, impeached, and allegedly unfaithful to his wife,' and argued that by choosing Paxton, 'Trump may have cemented a set of very difficult circumstances for his party,' with Democrats 'probably better positioned to win statewide in Texas than they've been in the past 40 years.' Semafor's quote of Democrat Martin Heinrich on the endorsement: 'there's not a strategy. There's just narcissism. It's about him.'
Right-Leaning Perspective
Fox News host Bret Baier pointed to a Wall Street Journal editorial saying Trump 'will deserve complete and total credit' if Paxton wins and then loses to Talarico in the general election. Fox News analyst Brit Hume suggested Trump's reasons for endorsing Paxton were 'pretty flimsy,' noting that Paxton 'has a ton of baggage,' while Talarico 'is a slick talker and impresses a lot of people,' concluding 'he's got a shot now that maybe he didn't have if his opponent had been Cornyn.' Conservative analyst quoted in NOTUS argued that Cornyn 'has no real policy break with Trump' and had 'gone out of his way to shower Trump with praise' and even 'reversed his long-held support for the legislative filibuster to back a Trump-supported nationalized voter registration system bill,' yet Senate Republicans 'privately chuckled and shaken their heads over Cornyn's efforts to ingratiate himself to Trump.' Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) defended Trump's choice, telling outlets 'You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out the pathway for Paxton is there.'
Deep Dive
Trump's endorsement of Paxton represents the third major GOP primary race in a short span where Trump has exerted influence to end reelection bids of senators—Cassidy who voted to convict him in impeachment, and now targeting Cornyn—while also backing Ed Gallrein against Rep. Thomas Massie. These contests have become referendums on Trump's hold over the Republican Party ahead of 2026, though Trump's overall approval ratings have weakened while he remains deeply popular with Republican voters, giving his endorsements outsize power in primaries. What distinguishes the Cornyn case is that unlike Cassidy (who voted to convict Trump) or Massie (who broke with Trump on foreign policy), Cornyn 'has no real policy break with Trump' and had deliberately worked to ingratiate himself, reversing his filibuster position to support Trump's voting bill—yet Trump preferred Paxton simply because 'Trump liked Paxton's opponent more.' This suggests the endorsement logic differs from a pure loyalty test; instead, it reflects Trump's personal preference combined with his frustration over Senate GOP resistance to his ballroom funding. According to Trump confidantes, the SAVE Act voting bill was the only reason Trump was holding out for Cornyn initially, and 'when that became a lost cause, it was 'Why the f*ck should I support this guy?'—indicating Trump weaponized the endorsement as leverage for his legislative agenda, then reversed course when leverage failed. The political math reveals Trump's risk: if Cornyn loses, he would join retiring senator Thom Tillis and primary-defeated Cassidy as GOP senators with minimal incentive to support Trump's agenda in a 53-seat Senate majority, while adding moderates like Murkowski and Collins as additional 'free agents' willing to defy him. Trump's relationship with Senate Republicans has hit a new low after the ballroom funding revolt, with GOP senators and aides increasingly viewing his initiatives as politically damaging and fearing they will cost the party control of the chamber. What happens next depends on whether Paxton defeats Cornyn on May 26 and whether the resulting general election outcome vindicates or punishes Trump's decision.