WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump has said that he will endorse a candidate in the U.S. Senate election in Texas in 2026, in which two of his political associates are running against each other.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who has held the seat since 2002, is running for reelection to a fifth term in the Senate. He is being challenged in the Republican Primary by the state’s Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has gained the support of many conservatives in Texas for his legal crusades against the federal government during the Biden administration. Paxton, who announced his candidacy on April 9, will be the most significant primary opponent that Cornyn has faced.
During a flight on the presidential aircraft, Air Force One, to Italy and the Vatican City State for the funeral of the late Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church, Trump told reporters in the White House Press Pool that he liked both Cornyn and Paxton and lamented their rivalry for the Republican nomination.
“They’re both friends of mine. I like them both,” Trump said. “In a way, I wish they weren’t running against each other. But I like Paxton, I like Cornyn. They’re both good people, so I’ll make a decision somewhere, but two very good men.”
The latest poll in the race, conducted in March by Texas Public Opinion Research, shows Paxton with a significant lead in support over Cornyn. Among registered Republican voters, Paxton has 38 percent support compared to Cornyn’s 27 percent, though 35 percent of respondents are still undecided.
Paxton has served as the attorney general of Texas, a statewide elected office, since 2015, and has been elected to three terms in that role. In 2023, he was impeached and suspended from office by the Texas House of Representatives, by a large margin in the Republican-led body, for various allegations of felonious conduct related to the use of his office for personal favors. He was later acquitted in a trial by the Texas Senate.
Both Paxton and Cornyn have been longstanding figures in Texas politics. Paxton served for 12 years in both houses of the state legislature, while Cornyn preceded Paxton as attorney general from 1999 to 2002. Before then, he was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, which is an elected position in the state. Other than Paxton and Cornyn, only one candidate—Rennie Mann, the president of a local school board in central Texas—has entered the race.
Endorsements for both candidates have come from prominent figures. Cornyn has been endorsed by several of his Senate Republican colleagues, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), who beat Cornyn in the Conference’s leadership election at the end of 2024. He has also been endorsed by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is the Senate GOP’s official campaign organization that works to win elections for the party.
Meanwhile, Paxton has been endorsed by U.S. Reps. Lance Gooden and Troy Nehls (R-Texas), as well as former Texas GOP Chairman Matt Rinaldi. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has declined to make an endorsement in the race.
Paxton and Cornyn’s campaigns did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
