Paxton and his supporters celebrate Trump's 11th hour endorsement in tight Senate GOP runoff: "We're very thrilled!"

In a major boost to Ken Paxton and a big blow to incumbent John Cornyn, President Trump endorsed the Attorney General in the nasty Republican primary runoff battle for U.S. Senate. 

The president's timing came as a surprise to some people because he made the announcement on the second day of early voting and one week before election day. 

In Allen at a previously scheduled rally for Paxton, his supporters started doing the Trump dance after the president announced he was backing Paxton over the four-term incumbent Senator. Moments later, Paxton thanked the president for backing him. 

"I'm so honored to have President Trump's endorsement," Paxton said. "His endorsement, in my opinion, is the most significant endorsement in my lifetime. So, when he endorses, it has a tremendous impact. I think it creates a slight bit of momentum, don't you?" 

In a statement on his Truth Social platform, Mr. Trump said, "I know Ken well, have seen him tested at the highest and most difficult levels, and he is a WINNER! Ken is a Strong Supporter of TERMINATING THE FILIBUSTER and, very importantly, THE SAVE AMERICA ACT.. Ken is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas and will continue to do so in the United States Senate." Regarding Cornyn, the President said, "John Cornyn is a good man, and I worked well with him, but he was not supportive of me when times were tough." 

"We're not giving up the fight," Cornyn says

In Lubbock, Sen. John Cornyn said he is moving forward. 

"We're not giving up the fight. I know who gets to choose our senators, and it's the people of Texas," said Cornyn. "And there's no substitute for that." 

As part of his closing argument to Republicans, Cornyn has said he has voted with Mr. Trump 99 % of the time. He has also said he believes Paxton is a flawed candidate, and that if Paxton becomes the Republican nominee, he will put the Senate seat at risk. Cornyn repeated that on Tuesday. 

"I believe that, in terms of our success in November, that Ken Paxton would be an albatross around the neck of our candidates and would likely lose to James Talarico," said Cornyn. "I think we've come too far and worked too hard to risk that."

But Paxton has questioned Cornyn's support for Mr. Trump and said he has changed his tune during the past year. At his rally Tuesday, Paxton said, "The fake John Cornyn is going away in about seven days." 

Various independent polls show Paxton is leading Cornyn heading into the runoff by more than three percentage points. Paxton's supporters, including State Rep. Keresa Richardson, R-McKinney, believe the president made the right decision. 

"To get Trump's endorsement was just so exciting. We're very thrilled," Richardson said.

When asked if Paxton would run away with the election now that he received the president's endorsement, Richardson said, "I felt like Paxton was going to win anyway, but the endorsement will certainly help him win."

Another Paxton supporter, Lisa Full, said, "I am so excited and it's really cool that he did it while we were here at this event so we could all celebrate together. He picked the right person, a true patriot who fights for Texas."

Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, a State Rep. from Austin, issued a statement Tuesday saying it doesn't matter who he runs against. 

"For decades, John Cornyn and Ken Paxton have embodied a broken politics that enriches wealthy donors while costs skyrocket for the rest of us. Our movement to take back Texas for working people rises above party politics because the biggest fight in this country is not left versus right, it's top versus bottom." 

Cornyn, Paxton and other Texas Republicans have called Talarico a dangerous progressive and said that he is out of step with Texans.

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