President Donald Trump has missed a key deadline to endorse one of the candidates in Texas' Republican primary for the U.S. Senate between John Cornyn and Ken Paxton.
CNN noted that the time has now passed for either candidate to withdraw their name from the ballot. The outlet quoted officials saying that Trump is focused on the war with Iran and has not thought about the matter.
Both the names of Cornyn and Paxton will be listed on the ballot in the runoff, which will take place on May 26. Trump has so far avoided making an announcement when consulted about the issue, most recently saying they can both beat he Democratic candidate, state Rep. James Talarico. "I'll let you know that over the next week or so," Trump told NBC News during the weekend.
He went on to say that "a lot has to do with the SAVE America Act." A lot is going to determine — Republicans have to get that passed, because that will secure voting in this country."
The outlet noted that earlier this week Cornyn abandoned his long-standing support for the Senate filibuster, saying he will back "whatever changes to Senate rules that may prove necessary" to pass the SAVE America act, which would implement voting restrictions.
Trump was expected to endorse Senator John Cornyn in the party's Texas primary, but it stalled after his intention was leaked to the press, according to a recent report.
CNN detailed in another report that, as the announcement didn't come, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton made a move that helped his chances of not being at odds with Trump's wishes.
He said he would consider dropping out of the race if the Senate passed the SAVE America act. White House officials told the outlet that Paxton's was a "genius" move and kept him in play, even if it ends up being temporary. Different reports suggest he is set to back Cornyn, with Republican officials saying he will be a stronger candidate in the general election than Paxton, who has gone through different controversies in his political career.
The president urged the candidate who he doesn't back to drop out of the race, but Paxton anticipated he will remain in the race even despite Trump's wishes, saying "I owe it to the people of Texas."
"I'm spending a year of my life campaigning against John Cornyn because he doesn't represent the people of Texas well," he said in an interview last week. "Everything that trump stood for, Cornyn has not. Republicans would like something different," he added.
Trump has also been under pressure from the MAGA world to refrain from endorsing Cornyn, according to a different report. Axios noted that dozens of influencers from that section of the Republican party have come out to criticize Cornyn over the past days, highlighting previous comments from the senator in which he took aim at the president.
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