UPDATE 1-Trump to make endorsement in Texas U.S. Senate Republican primary

President Donald ​Trump said he would make an endorsement ‌on ​Tuesday in the Republican primary race for a U.S. Senate seat in Texas, where hardliner Ken Paxton is challenging veteran U.S. Senator John ‌Cornyn.

Cornyn, who has served in the Senate since 2003, faces scandal-scarred Paxton in a May 26 runoff after neither secured a majority in their three-way March primary election. Both candidates had tried to position ‌themselves as closely to Trump as possible, but some Republican leaders had worried that Paxton could endanger ‌a typically safe seat. "I've pretty much always known who I was going to endorse, but I just thought this was a good time ... the voting is starting, and I thought this was a good time," Trump told reporters at ⁠the White ​House.

Trump said he would ⁠make the announcement at 12:30 EDT/1630 GMT. Paxton, a fierce ally of Trump, withstood more than $60 million spent against him in ⁠the race by allies of Cornyn, who was backed by Senate Republican leadership.

Political analysts say Paxton is the ​favorite to win in the November general election, but his victory is by no means assured ⁠given his history of scandals, including an FBI investigation that led to his 2023 impeachment. He was later acquitted. Trump won ⁠Texas ​by nearly 14 percentage points in 2024 but had declined to endorse any candidate, a blow to Cornyn's hopes of serving a fifth Senate term.

"I won Texas all six times, meaning ⁠primaries and the race, and I got the highest vote in the history of Texas, and ⁠I love Texas," Trump said. The ⁠victor of the runoff will face off against Democratic nominee James Talarico, a state lawmaker who has explicitly appealed to independents and moderates in a ‌state long ‌been dominated by Republicans.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)