Trump endorses Texas AG Ken Paxton in heated GOP Senate runoff

(CN) — President Donald Trump has endorsed Ken Paxton, the far-right attorney general of Texas, in the GOP runoff for the U.S. Senate.

“I know Ken well, have seen him tested at the highest and most difficult levels, and he is a WINNER!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Tuesday.

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

Paxton has been a major ally of Trump and the far right in his time as attorney general. On issues from voter citizenship to abortion to promoting conspiracies around the 2020 election, Paxton has used his state office to push back against Biden’s policies and defend Trump’s both in and out of court.

Like Trump, Paxton has been on the receiving end of plenty of lawsuits and criminal proceedings in his time. And like Trump, Paxton has dodged heavy consequences. He faced a 2023 impeachment from the Texas House, but the Texas Senate acquitted him of all sixteen counts. And he struck a deal with just weeks before trial in a securities fraud case prosecutors had been building against him for nine years.

Paxton shared the endorsement on X with a short comment of his own.

“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!”

The president also praised Cornyn but said the incumbent senator had not been supportive enough of his 2024 presidential campaign or his second term.

Trump’s long-awaited endorsement could give Paxton a much-needed boost in the runoff. Paxton had won 40.3% of the vote in the March primary, while Cornyn won 42.5%. However, Cornyn’s campaign and supporters have outspent Paxton’s by as much as 17 to 1, though by just 4 to 1 since the primary.

Cornyn remained confident in his own social media statement despite the endorsement.

“I have worked closely with President Trump through both of his presidential terms and voted with him more than 99% of the time. He has consistently called me a friend in this race. It is now time for Texas Republican voters to decide if they want a strong nominee to help our GOP candidates down ballot and defeat Talarico in November, or a weak nominee who jeopardizes everything we care about. I trust the Republican voters of Texas.”

James Talarico, the rising star of the Texas Democrats and the general election opponent for whoever wins on May 26, appeared unfazed by the endorsement.

“As I said on primary night, it doesn’t matter who wins the runoff,” Talarico wrote in a statement Tuesday. “We already know who we’re running against: the billionaire megadonors and their corrupt political system.

“For decades, John Cornyn and Ken Paxton have embodied a broken politics that enriches wealthy donors while costs skyrocket for the rest of us. Our movement to take back Texas for working people rises above party politics — because the biggest fight in this country is not left versus right, it’s top versus bottom.”