The Texas Senate race is a MAGA litmus test:
President Donald Trump is preparing to endorse a longtime Senate incumbent over a loyal ally in a closely watched Republican primary — a decision that would put him at odds with parts of the MAGA base that have rallied behind the challenger.
Trump has said he intends to endorse Sen. John Cornyn over his Republican opponent Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general and a longtime ally of Trump, according to three people familiar with his thinking, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. The Republican primary race heads to a runoff in May. Trump said Wednesday on Truth Social that he plans to make an endorsement soon and declared that the candidate he doesn’t endorse should drop out.
Trump said on Truth Social that he intends to endorse one of them and demands that the other drop when he does it. We know that he loves the criminal monster Paxton (a Texas version of him) but has been persuaded that Cornyn is the safer bet.
Paxton says that he will only consider dropping out if the Senate blows up the filibuster and passes the SAFE Act which isn’t going to happen but makes him all the more beloved by the MAGA base. It’s a problem:
From prominent MAGA voices to lesser-known grassroots activists, many in Trump’s die-hard base say they are befuddled that the president is heeding the calls of establishment GOP operatives over his most loyal backers, adding to frustrations among supporters who warn that waning enthusiasm could threaten Republican turnout in the midterms.
Conservative media figures and MAGA influencers have blanketed social media this week with posts highlighting Cornyn’s past criticisms of Trump, questioning the president’s commitment to “drain the swamp” in Washington, and pledging to support Paxton regardless of Trump’s endorsement. They also recirculated a 2023 Truth Social post from Trump in which he compared Cornyn to former senator Mitt Romney, a Trump critic, and said Cornyn was “always quick to surrender to the Dems.”
“It is a massive ask for the president, love him though we may, to come in and say, ‘Hey, that conservative that you love for the same reasons you love me? I want you to change your mind’” and not vote for Paxton, said Mark Davis, a conservative radio host in Texas who is closely attuned with Trump-supporting Republican activists in the state.
I just don’t think Trump has that kind of juice but he probably has enough left to put Cornyn over the top. That’s all he cares about. He’ll take his victory lap and claimed that he’s the most powerful movement leader the world has ever known — Ghandi and Hitler combined. But little by little the crack is growing wider.