Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who advanced to a primary runoff earlier this week against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, posted a series of conditions on Thursday that he said would potentially lead him to bow out of the race.
The comments come just hours after President Donald Trump said he would endorse a candidate in the race “soon” — while demanding that the other Senate hopeful drop out of the race to avoid a costly runoff campaign.
“I would consider dropping out of this race if Senate Leadership agrees to lift the filibuster and passes the SAVE America Act,” Paxton wrote on X.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune threw cold water on Paxton’s demands when asked about them shortly after, telling reporters, “You guys know where the votes are on the filibuster. That’s not going to happen.”
Previously, Paxton had said he would not drop out of the race, even if Trump endorses Cornyn.
Trump, responding to Paxton’s defiance in a Politico interview Thursday morning, said: “That is bad for him. So maybe, maybe that leads me to go the other direction.”
The Atlantic first reported that Trump is expected to endorse Cornyn, noting that Republicans hope an endorsement from Trump will make the race less expensive for the party.
In his post, Paxton also took the time to call Cornyn “a coward who has refused to support abolishing the filibuster to pass this bill.”
“No one has been more loyal to Donald Trump than me—fighting the stolen 2020 election, being in Mar-a-Lago when he announced his 2024 campaign, and standing with him in NY in the face of lawfare,” Paxton wrote. “For the good of our country and for the good of passing President Trump’s agenda, I am determined to help him get this done.”
Cornyn responded to Paxton’s post on X, writing, “I repeat what I have consistently said: I support the bill and have encouraged Senate Republicans to get it done.”
The Tuesday primary was a highly anticipated matchup after Trump declined to endorse any particular candidate. Rep. Wesley Hunt also ran for the seat but finished a distant third.
If neither Paxton or Cornyn drops out of the runoff, Texas voters will be at the polls again May 26.
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