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Trump keeps Republicans guessing on Texas Senate endorsement

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President Trump is keeping Republicans guessing over whether he’ll endorse in the closely watched Texas GOP Senate primary between Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and state Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Trump met with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Senate Leadership Fund officials, both Cornyn allies, on Wednesday to discuss the Senate map, including the Texas primary. Cornyn has been consistently trailing Paxton in the polls.

And on Thursday, the race was rocked by another wildcard when Paxton’s wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton (R) filed for divorce. The attorney general had faced allegations of taking part in an extramarital affair and corruption as a part of his 2023 impeachment trial.

An endorsement from Trump has the potential to give Cornyn a much-needed boost among GOP primary voters, who for several cycles have tended to lean further to the right.

“It will affect their perception of where Cornyn stands with President Trump and with the party,” said Brendan Steinhauser, Cornyn’s former campaign manager. “Everything is at the margins but I do think it matters.”

Cornyn campaign senior adviser Matt Mackowiak referred to a Trump endorsement as “the most powerful endorsement in the modern history of the Republican party.”

“Senator Cornyn and President Trump are good friends and close allies and Senator Cornyn is proud to have voted with President Trump 99.2 percent of the time while he has been in office,” Mackowiak said in a statement to The Hill.

“We respect that President [Trump] will take his time to make a decision and in the meantime we are focused on running a first rate, winning campaign, as Senator Cornyn always has,” he added.

Cornyn was front and center........

© The Hill