It seemed like the end of the road for Ken Paxton.
The Texas attorney general had underperformed expectations in the state’s March 3 Republican primary for Senate, narrowly trailing long-endangered incumbent Sen. John Cornyn. Trump was on the verge of endorsing Cornyn, promising to make a choice “soon” and demanding that the candidate he did not endorse drop out. Paxton had made clear he would not abide by such an arrangement, something Trump said was a “bad” move by Paxton.
So Paxton tried something new: At 12:18 p.m. on March 5, he posted on X that he would consider dropping out if Senate Republicans abolished the filibuster to pass the Save America Act, a Trump priority bill to impose new voter ID restrictions. Paxton texted Trump the post to make sure he saw it.
It was a “Hail Mary,” as one person familiar with the matter put it, but it appeared to pay off. Trump was already frustrated that his intentions to endorse Cornyn had been leaked and allies had been calling nonstop to tell him that a Cornyn endorsement would be a betrayal to his loyal base. Trump held off on endorsing in the runoff for 75 days — and then on Tuesday, Trump abruptly gave his support to Paxton.
The chain of events was as exhilarating to Paxton supporters who have long seen him as far more loyal to Trump — and worthy of his endorsement — as it was devastating to many of Cornyn’s colleagues in the Senate.
