Trump Delays Texas Senate Endorsement as Cornyn, Paxton Fight Continues

Former President Trump has yet to deliver his promised endorsement in the heated Texas Republican Senate runoff between incumbent John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton. Both candidates are launching attack ads against each other as Tuesday's withdrawal deadline approaches, with neither showing signs of backing down from the costly campaign battle.

Former President Donald Trump continues to delay his promised endorsement in the Texas Republican Senate runoff, while incumbent Senator John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton refuse to exit the race ahead of Tuesday’s withdrawal deadline.

Both candidates are doubling down with fresh attack advertisements targeting each other, setting the stage for more than two months of expensive and divisive campaigning that party leaders hoped to avoid.

Trump informed NBC News on Saturday that he expects to make an endorsement this week. However, it has already been two weeks since he initially pledged to support a candidate “soon” and encourage the other to exit the race “for the good of the Party.”

In the March 3 primary election, Cornyn led Paxton but failed to capture the majority required to prevent a runoff.

When questioned about the possibility of Cornyn withdrawing, campaign spokesperson Matt Mackowiak responded “of course not” and noted “we’ve already started our campaign.”

Cornyn’s campaign unveiled an advertisement Tuesday focusing on allegations of Paxton’s extramarital affair and his impeachment by the Republican-majority Texas House. While Paxton was subsequently cleared of charges and has rejected corruption claims, another Cornyn ad characterized these same allegations as violations of the Ten Commandments.

Regarding Paxton’s potential withdrawal, campaign spokesperson Nick Maddux refused to provide comment. However, the attorney general rolled out a new attack advertisement against Cornyn on Friday and is set to address the Conservative Political Action Committee’s annual gathering this month, indicating no intention to quit.

Paxton’s advertisement features news footage showcasing Cornyn’s previous criticism of Trump, particularly regarding the former president’s unfounded claims about the 2020 election being fraudulent, while positioning Paxton as the MAGA-supporting contender.

A super PAC supporting Paxton has attempted to capture Trump’s notice by broadcasting an advertisement with similar themes in West Palm Beach, Florida, where Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort is located.

Despite being a more conventional Republican, Cornyn is not backing away from the battle over MAGA loyalty, with his campaign website leading with the statement “Cornyn votes with President Trump 99% of the time.”

Trump shared with NBC News that he has great affection for “both candidates very much” and is confident either could defeat Democratic nominee state Representative James Talarico in the general election.

Although Cornyn narrowly outperformed Paxton in the initial primary, the runoff election could benefit the attorney general since these contests typically attract the most conservative and engaged Republican voters.

“Cornyn has always had a weakness with the most conservative voters in the electorate,” explained Joshua Blank, research director for the Texas Political Project at the University of Texas, Austin, which conducts statewide polling.

However, Blank noted that Cornyn’s primary campaign seemed to address some of that disadvantage and “illustrate for the Republican primary electorate what kinds of vulnerabilities that Ken Paxton has.”

Veteran Texas Republican strategist Dave Carney emphasized that television advertisements carry less weight in runoff elections. The smaller, more focused voter pool requires campaigns to concentrate on identifying specific supporters and reaching them through targeted digital outreach and text messaging.

“Whoever has good data and knows who their supporters are and turns them out will win,” Carney stated.