Texas pick

Nervous GOP waits for Trump’s Texas pick

“I hope it’s going to be soon,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters hours after making his latest plea to the president to endorse Sen. John Cornyn.

Mia McCarthy

Senate Republicans are holding their breath ahead of President Donald Trump’s critical choice in Texas: an establishment GOP candidate vs. a MAGA firebrand.

The president announced Wednesday his incoming endorsement in the Texas GOP Senate runoff between Sen. John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton. Senate leaders have urged the president to throw his support behind Cornyn to avoid a grueling 12-week showdown that could burn $100 million or more in GOP donor money.

There’s hope from some of Cornyn’s allies, who believe things are aligning in the incumbent’s favor, as he appears on track to win a plurality in Tuesday’s voting.

A swift endorsement would also let Senate Republicans pivot their resources toward holding onto seats that Democrats are targeting. That could now include Montana, after GOP Sen. Steve Daines announced Wednesday night that he would not seek reelection.

“I hope it’s going to be soon,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Wednesday about an official Trump nod, hours after making his latest plea on Cornyn’s behalf to the president.

He’s not alone. Multiple other Republicans have pressed the president to back Cornyn ever since he advanced to the primary runoff Tuesday, according to three people granted anonymity to describe private conversations.

They warned Trump that if scandal-plagued Paxton becomes the nominee, it could cost Republicans a seat they have held since 1961. There’s even more GOP anxiety now that state Rep. James Talarico secured the Democratic nomination — a candidate many believe could give Democrats their best chance at flipping the seat.

“There’s nothing more powerful than President Trump’s endorsement,” Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) said in an interview for POLITICO’s “The Conversation” Wednesday. Britt said Cornyn is “without a doubt the candidate to win in November.”

However, anxious Republicans are acutely aware that the president has always been fond of Paxton, a MAGA firebrand who eagerly joined Trump’s effort to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 win.

“We need to hold that seat which means we need to nominate someone who is going to win in November,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso told POLITICO. “The person that will win in November is John Cornyn.”