Cornyn: 'Ship has sailed' on Trump endorsement in senator's bid to fend off Paxton primary challenge

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, this week, appeared to pour cold water on the prospect of a potentially race-saving endorsement from President Donald Trump ahead of the Republican Senate runoff.

Cornyn placed first in the initial primary, beating out Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, but falling shy of the threshold to avoid a runoff. Polling has shown Paxton with a strong lead.

When pressed on the prospect of Trump stumping for him, Cornyn told the Austin American-Statesman that "I think that ship has finally sailed."

After the first round of the primary, Trump indicated he was prepared to make an endorsement in the race and ask the other candidate to drop out, though he never did so.

Paxton, for his part, said that he would drop out if Cornyn could secure passage of the SAVE Act, a marquis voter ID bill that Senate Republicans have not been able to advance.

The bill remains unpassed and Paxton remains in the race. Many analysts have theorized that Paxton's offer caught the Cornyn camp and the White House flat-flooted and ultimately staved off the endorsement.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent for Just the News. Follow him on X.