President Trump has endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over incumbent Senator John Cornyn in the Republican primary runoff for the U.S. Senate from Texas.
The endorsement is likely to give Paxton a boost in his efforts to win the GOP nomination next Tuesday, but it could complicate Republican efforts to hold onto the Senate.
Trump posted his endorsement on Truth Social, saying, "I know Ken well, have seen him tested at the highest and most difficult levels, and he is a WINNER!"
Mark Jones, a political science fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute, said Trump's move is likely to alienate Cornyn's supporters: "This decision by President Trump is a slap in the face to many Texas Republicans such as Rick Perry and Phil Graham and others who supported Senator Cornyn. It's also a slap in the face to Senator Thune who's been lobbying the president to endorse Cornyn for quite some time."
Democratic nominee James Talarico posted in response, "As I said on primary night, it doesn't matter who wins this runoff. We already know who we're running against: the billionaire mega-donors and their corrupt political system."
This story was taken from an audio report by Houston Public Media's Andrew Schneider.
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