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By Andrew Stanton and Gabe Whisnant
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President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the Texas Republican Senate primary should end quickly so the party can focus on defeating Democratic nominee James Talarico in November.
The president is expected to endorse incumbent Texas Senator John Cornyn in the May U.S. Senate runoff election with state Attorney General Paxton, according to The Atlantic, which spoke to three people familiar with the matter. However, the magazine said its sources noted that Trump is prone to last-minute changes.
In a post on Truth Social, the president praised both Republicans for their campaigns but said neither had done enough to unify the race, adding that he plans to issue an endorsement soon and will urge the losing candidate to drop out (in all capital letters) ahead of the May runoff.
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"Is that fair? We must win in November!!! Thank you for your attention to this matter," Trump concluded.
Trump also pointed to his past election wins in Texas and said his endorsements have been highly successful there.
Newsweek reached out to the Cornyn and Paxton campaigns for comment via email.
Who Won the Texas Primaries?
Neither Cornyn nor Paxton secured 50 percent of the vote in the Texas primary. As of 2 p.m. ET, Cornyn’s support stood at 41.9 percent of the vote, while Paxton’s was at 40.7 percent. Representative Wesley Hunt placed third with 13.5 percent.
On the Democratic side, State Representative James Talarico defeated Representative Jasmine Crockett. He had received more than 52 percent of the vote as of 2 p.m. ET.
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What Polls Say Following Texas Primaries
Recent polling shows Paxton leading Cornyn.
A Blueprint Polling survey showed that Paxton had 49 percent support and Cornyn 36 percent in the runoff. Sixteen percent remained undecided. According to that poll, Cornyn would need to win the vast majority of undecided voters to receive a majority in the runoff.
It surveyed 1,001 Texas voters from February 23-24, 2026 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
A McLaughlin & Associates poll, which surveyed 800 Texas Republican primary voters from February 9-12, showed Paxton with 50 percent and Cornyn with 38 percent support in the primary.
A YouGov and University of Houston poll gave Paxton 51 percent support and Cornyn 40 percent support. It surveyed 550 likely voters from January 20-31, 2026 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.
What to Know About the Race Between John Cornyn and Ken Paxton
Cornyn, who has served in the Senate since 2002, has faced criticism from parts of the Republican base, driven in part by his support for a 2022 bipartisan gun‑safety bill and past comments about Trump. They have argued that Texas should elect a more conservative senator, given its conservative lean.
But many Republicans believe Cornyn, who has easily won reelection in the past, would be a stronger candidate.
Concerns about Paxton stem primarily from his extensive baggage: years of corruption allegations, ethics investigations and a history of intra‑party conflict that some Republicans fear could alienate swing voters or depress moderate Republican turnout.
Paxton, however, centered his campaign on his alliance with Trump and cast Cornyn as out of step with the party’s conservative base.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, told reporters that Trump will "hopefully" endorse Cornyn soon, according to Politico.
"[If] Trump endorses early, it saves everybody a lot of money, and...10 weeks of a spirited campaign on our side that keeps us from spending time focusing on the Democrats," he said, according to the outlet.
Trump had not endorsed in the primary.
Why the 2026 Texas Senate Race Is So Important
Texas’ Senate race could decide whether Democrats or Republicans hold control of Congress’s upper chamber in 2027.
Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate majority. Democrats are targeting GOP-held seats, light-blue Maine, and swing-state North Carolina as their top targets in the 2024 election, while defending seats in Trump-won states, Georgia and Michigan.
No other GOP seats in states Harris won, or Trump won by a single-digit margin, are up for grabs. That means that Democrats must win more conservative turf to secure a Senate majority. Democrats are eyeing Republican seats in Alaska, Iowa, Ohio and Texas as potential flip opportunities.
If Democrats win every seat they currently hold and flip Maine and North Carolina, they would still be held to a 51-49 minority. But if they flip two of those more Republican-leaning states, they could win a majority. This means that Texas could become one of the most important races of the midterms.
Although Democrats are hopeful about making Texas competitive, the state has not elected a Democratic senator since 1988, when Democrat Lloyd Bentsen won reelection. Democrats came close in 2018, when former Representative Beto O’Rourke lost to Republican Senator Ted Cruz by about 3 points.
Democrats saw some signs that Texas could become more competitive in the 2010s. Republican margins shrank from nearly 16 points in 2012 to 9 points in 2016 to under 6 points in 2020. But in 2024, Trump carried the state by nearly 14 points—the strongest showing in more than a decade. His inroads with Latino voters helped boost his margin in Texas.
What People Are Saying
Former Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene posted on X: “Trump now says he is going to endorse either Cornyn or Paxton and demands that whoever does not get his endorsement must drop out of the runoff. This is wrong and the people of Texas should be able to vote for WHOEVER THEY WANT!!! NOT the candidate Trump demands. People are furious over this and if Trump does this, it could actually be the real reason Texas Senate seat flips blue.”
Cornyn campaign senior adviser Matt Mackowiak previously told Newsweek: “Recent public polling has shown James Talarico either tied or ahead of Ken Paxton if he is the nominee, which would be an electoral disaster down ballot in Texas and simultaneously jeopardize the House GOP majority and the Senate GOP majority. Senator Cornyn is by far the strongest GOP nominee, as public polling has also shown. With midterm headwinds approaching, the GOP needs to put its strongest team on the field to advance Trump’s legislative agenda.”
Attorney General Ken Paxton said on X Wednesday morning: “Thank you, Texas. Last night, in a historic failure for John Cornyn, he failed to get nearly 60% of the GOP vote after spending $100 million. It's time to finish the job in the runoff. Help me fire John Cornyn once and for all.”
State Representative James Talarico said on Tuesday night: “This movement is about whether the people will hold the power in this state and this country. We launched this underdog campaign six months ago in my hometown of Round Rock, Texas, and since then, tens of thousands of Texans have shown up to rally with us in every corner of the state.”
What Happens Next
When exactly Trump will make his endorsement in the critical race remains unclear. Forecasters still give Republicans an advantage in the seat. Both the Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball classify the race as Likely Republican.
Update 3/4/26, 2:52 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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