Trump Says He Hasn’t Decided Yet to Endorse Cornyn or Paxton — One Day Before Early Voting

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

President Donald Trump demurred Monday when asked about endorsing in the Texas Senate primary race, saying he had not made a decision yet — one day before early voting kicks off.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) is being challenged in the GOP primary by Attorney General Ken Paxton and Wesley Hunt, a congressman who represents a district in the Houston suburbs.

Cornyn and Paxton have sparred for years with increasing bitterness. The incumbent Cornyn is widely viewed as a stronger candidate in the general election due to Paxton’s series of scandals, lawsuits, and controversies, but Paxton has gotten support from the MAGA wing of the GOP for his combative, far-right stances.

The latest Real Clear Politics polling average has Paxton with a narrow 2-point lead over Cornyn, 29.8 percent to 27.8 percent, with Hunt trailing at 19.5 percent.

On the Democratic side, Texas State Rep. James Talarico and Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) are battling it out.

Early voting for all the primaries in Texas starts Tuesday and runs through Feb. 27, with Election Day on March 3. If any race has no candidate with a majority of votes, the runoff elections will be on May 26.

Trump was asked about the Texas Senate on Monday during a gaggle with reporters on Air Force One (relevant section starts at the 10:00 mark).

“A lot of Republicans in D.C. are asking you to endorse John Cornyn, but you haven’t yet,” said a reporter. “Is there a chance you would endorse Paxton? And why haven’t you endorsed Cornyn?”

“I just haven’t made a decision on that race yet,” said Trump. “It’s got a ways to go, and I haven’t.”

(Again, early voting starts Tuesday and Election Day is in two weeks.)

Cornyn “is a good man,” Trump continued. “John is a good — I like all three of them, actually. I like all three. Those are the toughest races. They’ve all supported me. They’re all good and you’re supposed to pick one. So, we’ll see what happens. But I support all three.”

Watch the video above, via The White House on YouTube.

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