--- title: Trump Endorses Ken Paxton in Texas Senate Primary Despite Years of Corruption Allegations description: Trump announced his support for Paxton's bid to unseat incumbent Sen. John Cornyn just a week before the runoff election in the competitive primary. canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/05/19/trump-endorses-ken-paxton-texas-senate-republican-primary-john-cornyn/ author: Philip Wang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-05-19T20:45:04.746Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-19T19:22:45.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Endorses Ken Paxton in Texas Senate Primary Despite Years of Corruption Allegations og:description: Trump announced his support for Paxton's bid to unseat incumbent Sen. John Cornyn just a week before the runoff election in the competitive primary. og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/05/19/trump-endorses-ken-paxton-texas-senate-republican-primary-john-cornyn/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt10889d5abcbcde37/6a0c9f42fcb7160a414e75c3/GettyImages-2268335757.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5123 og:image:height: 2882 og:image:alt: GettyImages-2268335757.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Endorses Ken Paxton in Texas Senate Primary Despite Years of Corruption Allegations twitter:description: Trump announced his support for Paxton's bid to unseat incumbent Sen. John Cornyn just a week before the runoff election in the competitive primary. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt10889d5abcbcde37/6a0c9f42fcb7160a414e75c3/GettyImages-2268335757.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump Endorses Ken Paxton in Texas Senate Primary Despite Years of Corruption Allegations > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Philip Wang](https://time.com/author/philip-wang/)  ## Philip Wang May 19, 2026 8:45 PM UTC  Ken Paxton, Texas attorney general and Republican U.S. Senate candidate, speaks during the Ronald Regan Dinner at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Grapevine, Texas, on March 27, 2026. Ken Paxton, Texas attorney general and Republican U.S. Senate candidate, speaks during the Ronald Regan Dinner at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Grapevine, Texas, on March 27, 2026. Shelby Tauber–Bloomberg/Getty Images  by [Philip Wang](https://time.com/author/philip-wang/)  ## Philip Wang May 19, 2026 8:45 PM UTC President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a late endorsement of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in his bid to [unseat incumbent Sen. John Cornyn](https://time.com/7382444/texas-senate-democratic-primary-result-talarico-crockett/) in the state’s competitive Republican [Senate primary](https://time.com/7373241/james-talarico-jasmine-crockett-ken-paxton-john-cornyn-texas-senate-polls/). “Ken is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate,” Trump [said](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116602192066577324) on Truth Social, adding that “Paxton has gone through a lot, in many cases, very unfairly.” Trump also took a jab at Cornyn, saying the long-time Texas senator was not supportive of him “when things were tough.” “John was very late in backing me in what turned out to be a Historic Run for the Republican Nomination, and then, the Presidency, itself, both of which were Landslide Victories,” Trump explained. # Where does the Texas Senate race stand? Neither Paxton nor Cornyn received more than 50% of the vote during the state’s Republican primary in March, which triggered a runoff between the two candidates. Trump’s endorsement comes just a week before the May 26 runoff election. During the first round of the primary, Cornyn [won](https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/texas-primary-us-senate/) 42% of the vote while Paxton won 40.5%. According to a [poll](https://www.uh.edu/hobby/gop/) conducted by Hobby School of Public Affairs at University of Houston between April 28 and May 1, Paxton was then leading Cornyn by 3% in the runoff—though that edge was nearly within the poll's 2.83% margin of error, underscoring how close the race has been. Even before the runoff, the Texas primary had become the most expensive primary in U.S. history, with more than $125 million spent on advertising on candidates on both sides of the party, according to media tracking firm [AdImpact](https://adimpact.com/blogs/tx-senate-ad-analysis-the-most-expensive-senate-primary-on-record). Recent numbers from ad-tracking firm AdImpact Politics show that Cornyn, the four-term senator, has [outspent](https://x.com/AdImpact%5FPol/status/2052441464148246701) Paxton more than four to one on advertising during the runoff election alone. A recent poll from the Barbara Jordan Public Policy Research and Survey Center at Texas Southern University, released on Monday, [found](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/67aa7aa3e284b002cd6a420e/t/6a0addffcba58d0751053542/1779097087749/TSUTexasNov2026.pdf) that a race between either Cornyn or Paxton and the Democratic nominee for the seat, James Talarico, would be a tossup. In a Cornyn-Talarico race, 45% of likely voters said they would cast a ballot for Cornyn and 44% for Talarico, whereas in a Paxton-Talarico race, both candidates would get 45% of the votes. # The allegations Paxton has faced Paxton, a strong supporter of Trump, has faced a litany of political and personal scandals dating back long before he launched his run for the Senate seat. In 2015, Paxton was [indicted](https://www.texastribune.org/2015/08/03/paxton-set-surrender-securities-fraud-indictment/) over accusations of defrauding investors. He pleaded not guilty, and the legal saga went on for nine years, during which he was reelected as state Attorney General twice. In 2024, Paxton struck a [deal](https://apnews.com/article/ken-paxton-texas-securities-fraud-9ed5eecc30c1f967ec51f7e58ad9d0af) with prosecutors in which he agreed to pay almost $300,000 in restitution and complete 100 hours of community service in exchange for the charges being dropped. In 2020, while that case was still playing out, Paxton was also accused by eight members of his senior staff of taking bribes from a real estate developer and abusing his office. The aides reported Paxton to the FBI, which then launched an investigation. Paxton later fired four of the whistleblowers, which resulted in them suing on claims of retaliation and ultimately being [awarded](https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/03/ken-paxton-attorney-general-whistleblowers-appeal/) $6.6 million. The FBI investigation, along with the whistleblower lawsuit, prompted the Texas state House to [impeach](https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/27/ken-paxton-impeached-texas-attorney-general/) Paxton on 20 articles in 2023, only for the state Senate to later [acquit](https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/16/ken-paxton-acquitted-impeachment-texas-attorney-general/) him on 16 and dismiss the other four. The Department of Justice, meanwhile, [declined](https://www.texastribune.org/2025/04/03/ken-paxton-federal-charges-dropped-biden/) to pursue charges against Paxton in 2024, according to The Associated Press, effectively ending the federal investigation into the allegations two years after the department took over the case from authorities in Texas. During Paxton’s impeachment trial in the state legislature, accusations of infidelity against him also took center stage. The impeachment prosecutor alleged that the real estate developer who allegedly bribed the state Attorney General hired Paxton’s girlfriend so that the two could meet in secret in Austin. Paxton’s wife Angela Paxton, a member of the state Senate, filed for divorce in 2025 on “[biblical grounds](https://x.com/AngelaPaxtonTX/status/1943366217479393512).” In a [tweet](https://x.com/KenPaxtonTX/status/2056776517666193563) on Tuesday, Paxton thanked the President for endorsing him and vowed to fight for Trump in the Senate. “No one has ever fought harder for the American people than President Trump, and I look forward to championing his America First agenda in the Senate!” Paxton writes. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/05/19/trump-endorses-ken-paxton-texas-senate-republican-primary-john-cornyn/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/05/19/trump-endorses-ken-paxton-texas-senate-republican-primary-john-cornyn/"},"headline":"Trump Endorses Ken Paxton in Texas Senate Primary Despite Years of Corruption Allegations","datePublished":"2026-05-19T20:45:04.746Z","dateModified":"2026-05-19T19:22:45.000Z","description":"Trump announced his support for Paxton's bid to unseat incumbent Sen. 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