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

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