Trump Wants To Play Kingmaker In Heated Texas Senate Race

President Donald Trump says he will make an endorsement in the Texas Senate Republican primary soon, and when he does so, he wants the other candidate to drop out so that Republicans in the Lone Star State can focus on gearing up for a potentially expensive and closely watched general election fight with Democratic nominee James Talarico.

The president explained his strategy after Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton both advanced to a runoff election on Tuesday night after an already brutal primary race. Trump had initially opted not to endorse any specific candidate in the three-way race that also included Rep. Wesley Hunt, who failed to earn enough votes to move forward.

“The Republican Primary Race for the United States Senate in the Great State of Texas, a State I LOVE and won 3 times in Record Numbers (the HIGHEST vote ever recorded, by far!!!), cannot, for the good of the Party, and our Country, itself, be allowed to go on any longer. IT MUST STOP NOW!” Trump posted to Truth Social on Wednesday afternoon, saying that the party needs to “TOTALLY FOCUS” on beating Talarico, who defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX).

“Both John and Ken ran great races, but not good enough. Now, this one, must be PERFECT! My Endorsements within the Republican Party have been virtually insurmountable!” he said.

“It is such an honor to realize and say that almost everyone I Endorse WINS, and wins by a lot, especially in Texas! I will be making my Endorsement soon, and will be asking the candidate that I don’t Endorse to immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE! Is that fair?” the president added, stressing that Republicans “must win” the midterms. Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, but that margin could shift in either direction, thanks to several competitive races on the table in November.

The attacks between Cornyn and Paxton, which colored much of the primary race, showed no signs of stopping as of Tuesday night.

“I refuse to allow a flawed, self-centered and shameless candidate like Ken Paxton risk everything we’ve worked so hard to build over these many years,” Cornyn said, according to CSPAN.

Meanwhile, Paxton posted to X on Wednesday morning that he wants to “fire John Cornyn once and for all.”

“Last night, in a historic failure for John Cornyn, he failed to get nearly 60% of the GOP vote after spending $100 million,” he wrote. “It’s time to finish the job in the runoff.”

The Cook Political Report currently ranks the race as “Likely Republican,” but there has been some concern among Republicans that a lengthy, messy primary — especially one that drags even further through a contentious runoff — could continue to drain resources and boost the Democrat in the general election. Trump won the state of Texas with over 56% of the vote in 2024.