Paxton vows he's 'staying in this race' even if Trump backs Cornyn in Texas GOP clash
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is making it clear: he's staying in the race for the Republican Senate nomination even if President Donald Trump endorses Paxton's rival, longtime Sen. John...
By Fox News · Fox News
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is making it clear: he's staying in the race for the Republican Senate nomination even if President Donald Trump endorses Paxton's rival, longtime Sen. John Cornyn. "I’m staying in this race," Paxton said in an interview Wednesday evening. "I owe it to the people of Texas." Trump says he'll soon take sides in the costly and combustible GOP primary showdown Cornyn and Paxton. "I will be making my Endorsement soon," the president wrote in a social media post hours after Cornyn and Paxton advanced to a May 26 runoff election. TRUMP TEASES ENDORSEMENT COMING SOON IN CRUCIAL GOP CLASH The two heated rivals topped a crowded field of contenders in Tuesday's primary, but since no one cleared the 50% threshold, the nomination race heads into overtime. Trump added that he "will be asking the candidate that I don’t Endorse to immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE!" A Republican operative in Trump's political orbit told Fox News Digital it's expected Cornyn will get the president's endorsement. However, the president has been known to change his mind on candidates or even reverse endorsements . A second source in Trump's political orbit told Fox News that while there's still jockeying to influence the president’s decision, given Cornyn’s better-than-expected performance in the primary, Trump is expected to back the senator and prevent a messy and expensive runoff. CONTENTIOUS REPUBLICAN SENATE PRIMARY IN TEXAS HEADED INTO OVERTIME Asked if he would end his Senate bid if Trump backed Cornyn, Paxton, a MAGA firebrand and longtime Trump supporter and ally, said no in an interview with Real America's Voice. "I’ve spent a year of my life campaigning against John Cornyn because John has not represented the people of Texas well," Paxton argued. "He’s been against Trump in both of his elections, said he shouldn’t run last time. ... The people of Texas, at least the Republicans, would like something different." And a source in Paxton's political orbit empha…