BREAKING: President Trump Makes Huge Endorsement In Texas Senate Race

President Trump just made the move Texas MAGA voters were waiting for.

The president endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Republican Senate runoff against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, giving Paxton a massive America First boost one week before the May 26 election.

I am incredibly honored to have President Trump’s COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT.

No one has ever fought harder for the American people than President Trump, and I look forward to championing his America First agenda in the Senate!

Texas, get out and VOTE! pic.twitter.com/vGcWH4ZwaD

— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) May 19, 2026

The endorsement lands in the middle of a bitter establishment-versus-MAGA fight and puts Trump’s stamp squarely on the race.

Daily Signal reported on the endorsement:

President Trump weighed in Tuesday on the Texas Republican Senate primary runoff, backing the state’s Attorney General Ken Paxton over Sen. John Cornyn.

“Ken is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate,” Trump wrote on Tuesday.

He added that 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.”

The two candidates advanced to a runoff after neither received 50% of the vote in the March 3 primary. Cornyn and Paxton received 43% and 41% of the vote, respectively.

The runoff election is scheduled for May 26, with early voting already underway.

Trump’s endorsement comes as the closely watched contest has grown increasingly contentious, with Paxton airing attack ads against Cornyn over his past support for a visa program for Afghans who assisted U.S. forces.

The president’s intervention also comes as the SAVE America Act, a voter ID measure first introduced by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and backed by Trump, has stalled in the Senate.

Trump posted on Tuesday that “John Cornyn is a good man, and I worked well with him, but he was not supportive of me when times were tough.” He also noted that the senator was “very late” in endorsing his 2024 candidacy for president.

Paxton, meanwhile, has received backing from several Trump-aligned figures and groups, including Texas Republican Reps. Brandon Gill and Troy Nehls and Turning Point USA.

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He has pledged to continue his work as Texas attorney general at the federal level if elected.

The winner of the primary will face Texas Democrat James Talarico in the general election.

Early voting is already underway, with the runoff election scheduled for May 26.

🚨 NEW COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT OF KEN PAXTON FOR U.S. SENATE!

TEXAS – VOTE FOR KEN IN THE RUNOFF ON MAY 26! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER! pic.twitter.com/mkfRkC8WBZ

— Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) May 19, 2026

The race has been one of the most expensive and contentious Senate primaries in the country.

Fox News reported on the stakes:

President Trump is finally taking sides in the contentious and costly Republican Senate primary showdown in Texas between longtime Sen. John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton.

The president on Tuesday, in a highly anticipated announcement, endorsed Paxton, a MAGA champion. The president’s extremely potent endorsement came one week before the runoff between Cornyn and Paxton in right-leaning Texas.

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“Ken is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate,” Trump wrote in a social media post.

The two heated rivals topped a crowded field of contenders in an early March primary, but since no one cleared the 50% threshold, the nomination race headed into overtime, with the runoff election on May 26.

Trump decided that now was the time to endorse, after several months of staying neutral, because early voting for the next week’s runoff had opened.

“There are those that say whoever I endorse is going to win,” Trump said.

“I don’t know if that’s true, but historically, that’s absolutely true. I just don’t like to say it because I don’t like to brag.”

Cornyn or Paxton will face off in the general election against rising Democratic Party star state Rep. James Talarico, who topped progressive firebrand Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a vocal Trump critic, in the Democrats’ primary.

This year’s Senate showdown in Texas is one of a handful across the country that could determine if Republicans hold their majority in the chamber in the midterm elections. The GOP currently controls the Senate 53-47.

The Cornyn campaign and aligned super PACs spent nearly $100 million in the primary campaign to run ads attacking Paxton and Republican Rep. Wesley Hunt, who came in third.

Paxton, who has grabbed significant national attention the past dozen years by filing lawsuits against the Obama and Biden administrations, told supporters on primary night, “As we head into this runoff, we’re going to make the choice even clearer. While John Cornyn was cutting deals on gun control and amnesty, I was suing corrupt Joe Biden over 107 times.”

Trump explained his decision to back Paxton over the four-term incumbent.

“John Cornyn is a good man, and I worked well with him, but he was not supportive of me when times were tough,” Trump wrote. He also noted that Cornyn was “very late” in endorsing his 2024 presidential campaign.

BREAKING: President Trump endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Republican Senate runoff against Sen. John Cornyn, calling Paxton a “true MAGA Warrior” who has “ALWAYS delivered for Texas.” pic.twitter.com/gRjjyHPMhV

— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) May 19, 2026

News of the endorsement broke during a Paxton campaign event in Allen, Texas.

Associated Press reported on the reaction:

President Trump on Tuesday endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the GOP primary for U.S. Senate, supercharging his effort to oust incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in next week’s runoff.

“Ken is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate,” Trump wrote on social media.

News of the endorsement broke during a Paxton campaign event, drawing cheers from supporters who began dancing to “YMCA,” a Trump campaign anthem.

“I have so much respect for the president and appreciate so much his endorsement,” Paxton said at the event in Allen, Texas.

Paxton and Cornyn advanced to a May 26 runoff after finishing as the top vote getters in a March 3 primary where no candidate won a majority. Rep. Wesley Hunt finished third and did not advance.

Although the four-term Cornyn has backed Trump’s agenda in Washington, Paxton pitched himself as a political warrior for the Make America Great Again movement.

Cornyn’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Monday, the senator said he believed that Trump had decided not to weigh in with an endorsement.

Cornyn also argued that Paxton is a liability in a general election, where Democrats hope to flip the seat blue, and “Ken Paxton would hand it to them on a silver platter.”

Trump, in his social media post, said Cornyn was “a good man” but “he was not supportive of me when times were tough.” He complained that “John was very late in backing me in what turned out to be a Historic Run for the Republican Nomination.”

The runoff between Cornyn and Paxton had been shaping up as a bitter and expensive battle for the future of the Republican Party, and one that was diverting resources from other competitive races elsewhere in the country.

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Trump teased the endorsement decision earlier Tuesday, telling supporters that historically whoever he endorses wins.

“There are those that say whoever I endorse is going to win,” Trump said.

“I don’t know if that’s true, but historically, that’s absolutely true. I just don’t like to say it because I don’t like to brag.”

The winner of the May 26 runoff will face Democrat James Talarico in the general election.

President Trump just put the America First movement on the field in Texas. Now it’s up to Lone Star State voters to finish the job next week.