3 Seek Endorsement From Trump in Texas 02/27 06:14

   

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump just can't seem to choose among 
friends in the Texas Senate Republican primary.

   So when he travels to the state on Friday for his first post- State of the 
Union trip, where he plans to promote his energy and economic policies, Trump 
will have all three candidates in the competitive race join him -- just days 
before his party casts ballots in the primary race.

   Sen. John Cornyn is battling for his fifth term and is being challenged by 
state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt in a primary fight that 
has become viciously personal. And all three men, missing the coveted 
endorsement from Trump, have been trying to highlight their ties to him as they 
ramp up their campaigning ahead of Tuesday's vote.

   For his part, Trump will be seeking to ride the message of his State of the 
Union address from Tuesday, where he declared a return to economic prosperity 
and a more secure America -- two centerpiece arguments for Republicans as they 
campaign to keep their congressional majorities this fall.

   Trump's hesitation to endorse in the Texas Senate primary speaks to the 
tricky dynamics of the race.

   Cornyn is unpopular with a segment of Texas' GOP base, in part for his early 
dismissiveness of Trump's 2024 comeback campaign and for his role in authoring 
tougher restrictions on guns after the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. 
But Senate GOP leadership and allied groups see Cornyn as the stronger general 
election candidate, in light of a series of troubles that have shadowed Paxton.

   Paxtonbeat impeachment on fraud charges in 2023, and has faced allegations 
of marital infidelity by his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton.

   Senate Majority Leader John Thune and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, 
chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, have urged Trump to 
endorse Cornyn. They and allied campaign groups argue that the seat would cost 
the party hundreds of millions more to defend with Paxton as the candidate.

   "It is a strong possibility we cannot hold Texas if John Cornyn is not our 
nominee," Scott told Fox News on Wednesday.

   Hunt, a second-term Houston-area representative, was a later entry to the 
race, but claims a kinship with Trump, having endorsed him early in the 2024 
race. Hunt campaigned regularly for Trump and earned a prime-time speaking slot 
at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

   If no candidate reaches 50% in Tuesday's primary, the top two finishers will 
advance to a May 26 runoff.

   Cornyn's campaign and a half-dozen allied groups have poured more than $63 
million into the race since last fall, chiefly trying to slow Paxton but 
recently attacking Hunt in an effort to keep him from making it to the runoff.

   Earlier this month, Trump feinted toward weighing in on the race when he 
said he was taking "a serious look" at endorsing in the Texas primary. He has 
since reaffirmed his neutrality.

   Still, you wouldn't know it from watching TV in Texas. Cornyn has been 
airing ads since last year touting his support for Trump's agenda, even though 
his relationship with the president has been cool at times. Paxton and Hunt 
both have ads airing now featuring them standing with Trump.

   "I like all three of them, actually. Those are the toughest races. They've 
all supported me. They're all good. You're supposed to pick one, so we'll see 
what happens. But I support all three," Trump said earlier this month.

   The GOP battle comes as Democrats have a contested primary of their own in 
Texas between state Rep. James Talarico, a self-described policy wonk who 
regularly quotes the Bible, and progressive favorite U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett.

   Trump hasn't been shy about wading into other contested Republican primaries 
in the state. Parts of Corpus Christi fall within Texas' 34th congressional 
district, where former Rep. Mayra Flores is fighting to reclaim her seat 
against the Trump-endorsed Eric Flores. (The two are not related.) The winner 
of the primary will face off against Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, long a 
target of the GOP, whose district was redrawn to make it easier for a 
Republican to win.

   Eric Flores will be at the Trump event at the Port of Corpus Christi, which 
technically is located in a neighboring district.

   Elsewhere in the state, the president has also endorsed Rep. Tony Gonzales, 
who is fighting calls from his own party to resign from Congress after reports 
of an alleged affair with a former staffer who later died after she set herself 
on fire. Gonzales is refusing to step down and has said that there will be 
"opportunities for all of the details and facts to come out" and that the 
stories about the situation do not represent "all the facts."

   Gonzales is facing a primary challenge from Brandon Herrera, a gun 
manufacturer and gun rights influencer who Gonzales defeated by fewer than 400 
votes in their 2024 runoff. The White House did not return a request for 
comment on Thursday on whether Trump stands by his endorsement of Gonzales.