TX-SEN: Trump said he wanted one of the Texas Senate candidates to drop out. Now he's missed the deadline

[RandySF]

President Donald Trump promised his endorsement was forthcoming in the GOP Texas Senate runoff and said he wanted whoever he didn’t pick to drop out. But now — preoccupied with the Iran war and a doomed voting bill — he’s missed a critical deadline.

The decision hasn’t been on the president’s mind for days, White House officials told CNN Tuesday afternoon, noting that he was preoccupied by the war with Iran. Now, the deadline for either candidate to withdraw their name from the ballot has passed.

That means that the names of both incumbent Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton will be listed on the ballot in the May 26 runoff, something many Senate Republican leaders — and even Trump himself — acknowledged they did not want.

White House officials say Trump may still choose to endorse in the race. Either candidate could still unofficially withdraw from the runoff, despite the deadline, but his name would still appear on the ballot.





https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/17/politics/paxton-cornyn-tump-texas-endorsement?cid=ios_app

[OAITW r.2.0]

1. Tough choice. Both are Republicans.

[Skittles]

4. and they are both vile and disgusting

hard choice for Trump

[LetMyPeopleVote]

2. LOL

trump delayed his endorsement because he is an idiot

[Bluetus]

3. The perfect scenario: Trump endorses Cornyn and Paxton wins.

IMHO, this is actually quite a plausible scenario, if not likely. If Trump stays out, I think Cornyn wins 53-47. If Trump endorses, this is a perfect opportunity for Dems to pick their opponent. We should be thinking about running attack ads against Cornyn, linking him with Trump, the Iran war, gas prices, and all that.

[OAITW r.2.0]

5. Agree. Help Cronyn out......

of the Texas Senate seat. Paxton has a lot of people pissed off,,,especially moderate Republicans. If he "wins" the nomination, this seat is in play.

[Bluetus]

7. And I believe Trump will TACO on us

I bet he endorses nobody because he will realize that if he endorses Cornyn and Paxton wins, that is extremely damaging to Trump.

[OAITW r.2.0]

8. "I like 'em both" , would be the best endorsement.

[Boo1]

6. Does it matter?

It's a primary runoff, so it's not like the republicans are going to split the vote and the Democrat win that way. Maybe a little egg on the face if the one he endorses only gets like 70% or something, but pretty small issue.

[The Bopper]

9. Who do we pick

Jeffrey Daumer or John Wayne Gacy, tough choice..