Trump Freaks Out Over Brutal Texas Primary MAGA Showdown
The president is rushing to avoid a nasty GOP runoff after Democrats had a record turnout in the state.
President Donald Trump appeared panicked by the Texas results on Tuesday, as the Republican primary race headed toward a bitter and costly runoff, while Democrats saw record turnout.
Before the primaries, the president had refrained from endorsing either candidate in the race between Senator John Cornyn and his Republican opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Republicans and outside groups poured $100 million into the campaign, making this Senate primary the most expensive in history. However, neither candidate secured the 50% needed to avoid a runoff on May 26.
On Wednesday, Trump suggested that the bitter infighting of the primaries could not continue for another three months, as Republicans sought to maintain their majority.
“The Republican Primary Race for the United States Senate in the Great State of Texas, a State I LOVE and won 3 times in Record Numbers (the HIGHEST vote ever recorded, by far!!!), cannot, for the good of the Party, and our Country, itself, be allowed to go on any longer. IT MUST STOP NOW!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
The president then attacked Democratic candidate James Talarico, a former teacher and state legislator, who had campaigned on a progressive platform that included messages about his faith. Talarico won the primary in the first round, while Democrats had hoped to flip the state.
“We have an easy to beat, Radical Left Opponent, and we have to TOTALLY FOCUS on putting him away, quickly and decisively!” Trump declared. “Both John and Ken ran great races, but not good enough.”
“In his message, the president attacked one of the Republican candidates, stating that he had to be “perfect!” and that his endorsement of any one of them would determine the outcome.
“I have received tremendous support within the Republican Party! It is a great honor to see that almost all of the candidates I endorse are leading, and by large margins, especially in Texas! I will soon announce my endorsement and will ask the candidate I do not endorse to withdraw from the race immediately! Isn’t that right? We must win in November!”
While several candidates endorsed by the president won their primaries, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller was defeated. Representative Tony Gonzales, embroiled in scandals, also withdrew from the primary race, despite Trump’s endorsement, as the race headed toward a runoff.
The president has not yet indicated whether he will endorse Cornyn or Paxson, but The Atlantic magazine reported that he is expected to support the incumbent senator, who has served four terms.
The Republican wing of the Senate campaign in Washington, D.C., has staunchly backed Cornyn, 74, from the outset, repeatedly asserting that he is the most likely candidate to win the general election, given the allegations of infidelity and corruption against Paxson, 63.
The latest primary results show Cornyn, the establishment candidate, leading with just under 42% of the vote, compared to 40.7% for Paxson, after the Texas attorney general attempted to portray himself as a candidate more aligned with the “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) slogan and Trump.
This comes as Democrats have seen record turnout in their Senate primaries. More than 2.3 million voters cast their ballots in the Democratic primary for the Senate.
Although official results have not yet been released, voter turnout in Texas on Tuesday for the Democratic Senate primary surpassed that of the Republican primary, with 2.1 million participants despite close results in both contests.
For the first time in more than 20 years, Democrats also outpaced Republicans in early voting in the state. Overall, Democrats saw their highest turnout in a primary since the 2008 presidential primary contest between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
In Zapata County, a predominantly Hispanic county, turnout for Tuesday’s Democratic Senate primary surpassed Kamala Harris’s turnout for the 2024 general election.
Talarico’s rival, Jasmine Crockett, quickly called for party unity Wednesday morning, pledging to do everything she can to help the 36-year-old rising star win the election in November.
Despite the initial enthusiasm of the Democrats, the task ahead looks daunting in Texas. No Democrat has won a statewide seat since 1994, and none have been elected to the state Senate since 1988.
