Trump's Expected Endorsement Of John Cornyn In Texas GOP Primary Reportedly Stalled After Getting Leaked

President Donald 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 new report.

CNN noted 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 his bill imposing requirements to vote, lifting the filibuster to do so should it be necessary, something many Republican senators have opposed.

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.

Trump said last week he would make his endorsement "pretty soon," but CNN quoted officials saying he is not in a rush. 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 reacted to the remarks, issuing a warning to Paxton. That is bad for him. So maybe, maybe that leads me to go the other direction," he said.

However, a recent poll showed that Paxton would still lead Cornyn even if the latter gets Trump's endorsement.

The survey, conducted by Texas Public Opinion Research (TPOR), shows that, should Trump effectively back Cornyn, it wouldn't be enough to get him across the finish line: Paxton would still lead 44% to 43%. In contrast, should the state attorney general get the endorsement, his support would jump to 58%, compared to Cornyn's 32%.

The poll was conducted among 781 likely Republican primary voters between March 7 and 8, and has a margin of error of +/- 3.9 percentage points. It also showed Paxton gathering 49% of the support, compared to Cornyn's 41%. The remaining respondents remain undecided.

Supporters of Rep. Wesley Hunt, who got 13.5% of the vote in last week's primary, are breaking for Paxton, the survey showed. 48% of them back Paxton, compared to 31% who go for Cornyn.