Trump endorses candidate in Texas runoff primary, even as some ballots are cast

NPR | By Ayesha Rascoe,

Blaise Gainey

Published May 24, 2026 at 7:54 AM CDT

Texas' runoff primary elections are Tuesday. The race generating the most attention – and money – is the Texas Republican U.S. Senate primary between incumbent Senator John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. President Trump finally waded into the race last week and endorsed Paxton, even as ballots were already cast.

Ayesha Rascoe

Ayesha Rascoe is a White House correspondent for NPR. She is currently covering her third presidential administration. Rascoe's White House coverage has included a number of high profile foreign trips, including President Trump's 2019 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, Vietnam, and President Obama's final NATO summit in Warsaw, Poland in 2016. As a part of the White House team, she's also a regular on the NPR Politics Podcast.

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Blaise Gainey