U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton speaks to supporters at a watch party on March 3, 2026, in Dallas, Texas. (Sergio Flores / Getty Images)
By Bryan Chai March 18, 2026 at 3:00am
President Donald Trump already has his fingerprints all over various key races in Texas ahead of the 2026 midterms.
In February, the president took to his Truth Social page and endorsed just about every GOP candidate imaginable in the Lone Star State.
There was one glaring exception: Trump did not endorse a candidate for the Republican Senate primary.
And he still hasn’t.
According to the New York Post, as of Tuesday evening, Trump still had not picked between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and challenger Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general.
Cornyn and Paxton are headed for a special runoff after neither candidate was able to procure 50 percent of the votes — ostensibly a huge showdown in a state that the GOP is desperately trying to keep from turning purple.
Trump’s endorsement could trigger a major swing in what appears to be a rather competitive race — but the fact that Tuesday passed without an endorsement is raising eyebrows.
Tuesday was the deadline for candidates to drop out, and that’s significant.
Because as CNN reported, Trump had made clear that he expected the candidate he didn’t endorse to drop out of the race.
That, obviously, will not be possible now.
While it’s unclear if Trump forgot the deadline or simply can’t pick between Cornyn and Paxton, the president did previously explain to CNN’s Dana Bash that he would withhold his critical endorsement until the SAVE America Act was on his desk.
7/7 And on Texas GOP Senate race, President Trump said he will make a “decision fairly shortly” but that he wants “to have the full and complete Save America Act (which Includes trans issues now) “We have to have voter ID. We have to have proof of citizenship We have to have no…
— Dana Bash (@DanaBashCNN) March 6, 2026
According to Bash, Trump said he wanted “to have the full and complete Save America Act (which Includes trans issues now).”
For Trump, this issue was absolutely critical.
“We have to have voter ID. We have to have proof of citizenship We have to have no mail in ballots except the military, illness, disability and travel. We have to have no men in women’s sports — I added two things, and we have to have no transgender operations for youth.”
The SAVE America Act, which aims to require voters to provide identification before voting, is progressing, but still has not made it to his desk.
The Texas primary runoff between Cornyn and Paxton is now slated for May 26. The winner of that will go on to face Democratic nominee James Talarico in the November midterms.
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