(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he will soon make an endorsement in the heated Texas Senate Republican primary, as Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton head toward a runoff election in May.
Trump also expressed his desire for the non-endorsed candidate to concede.
“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 on his social media platform.
“I will be making my Endorsement soon, and will be asking the candidate that I don’t Endorse to immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE! Is that fair? We must win in November!!!” Trump wrote.
The president’s post came hours after Senate Republican leadership urged Trump to back Cornyn, a four-term Republican senator, over Paxton, a conservative firebrand who has become popular among Trump’s MAGA base despite being involved in several scandals.
Neither Cornyn nor Paxton captured 50% of the vote on Tuesday night’s primary. Republican Rep. Wesley Hunt, who was also running in the primary, has conceded.
The winner of the GOP primary will face Democrat James Talarico, a 36-year-old Presbyterian seminarian and former teacher who defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett on Tuesday night.
At stake in this year’s midterm cycle is Trump’s hold on Congress, where Republicans have narrow majorities in both the House and Senate.
“We need to hold that seat, which means we need to nominate somebody that’s going to win in November. And to me, that’s only one of those two that’s going to make it to the runoff: and that is John Cornyn,” Republican Whip John Barrasso said on Wednesday. “I would encourage the president to endorse him. The president will make his on his own time.”
Barrasso noted higher turnout on Tuesday night among Democratic voters, which he said “shows that the energy and enthusiasm is there on the Democrat side.
“We need to nominate somebody who attracts voters across the state of Texas, and that’s John Cornyn,” Barrasso said.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he’s hopeful that Trump will endorse Cornyn and save the GOP’s campaign arm from continuing to have to spend heavily to help Cornyn defeat Paxton. Cornyn and his allies already spent more than $70 million on ad spending, according to tracking firm AdImpact.
“Cornyn had, in my view — had a great night. And you know, wins. He’s positioned to win the runoff,” Thune said. “And if the president endorses early, it saves everybody a lot of money and lot of just, 10 weeks of spirited campaign on our side that keeps us from spending time focusing on the Democrats.”
Thune said that a hard-fought primary runoff between two Republican candidates is “not helpful.”
“Which is why, if the president can weigh in, it would be enormously helpful,” Thune said.
Thune later told Fox News that he spoke with Trump on Wednesday and reiterated his support for Cornyn, though he said Trump “makes his own decisions.”
Throughout the course of the primary election, Trump’s avoided making an endorsement, claiming that Cornyn, Paxton and Hunt were all “excellent” candidates and his “friends.”
Trump, in his social media post on Wednesday, praised Cornyn and Paxton for running “good races” but said they were “not good enough.”
“We have an easy to beat, Radical Left Opponent, and we have to TOTALLY FOCUS on putting him away, quickly and decisively! Both John and Ken ran great races, but not good enough. Now, this one, must be PERFECT!” Trump wrote.
ABC News’ Diana Paulsen contributed to this report.
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