“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.
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 42% of the vote while Paxton won 40.5%. According to a poll 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. Recent numbers from ad-tracking firm AdImpact Politics show that Cornyn, the four-term senator, has outspent Paxton more than four to one on advertising during the runoff election alone.