Trump's Endorsement Power Displayed in Texas Runoffs

The four candidates endorsed by President Donald Trump in the runoffs won big in Texas this week and are moving on as the Republican nominees in November's midterms.

Candidates backed by the President, U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton, Congressional candidates Alex Mealer, Carlos De La Cruz, and Jon Bonck, all won by large margins, displaying Trump's influence over Republican voters.

Paxton defeated incumbent John Cornyn by a 27.6 point margin, despite being massively outspent by Cornyn, exactly a week after Trump's surprise endorsement of the current Attorney General.

"Congratulations to Ken Paxton on such a tremendous win, and to John Cornyn for having run a strong and powerful race but, more importantly, having had a truly great career," the President wrote in a post on Truth Social. "John will remain my friend for a long time to come, as we both watch Ken become a fantastic, common sense Senator, one who is respected by all."

Mealer defeated state Rep. Briscoe Cain by a major 36.6 point margin for Texas' ninth congressional district. De La Cruz defeated State Rep. John Lujan by a 15.2 point margin for Texas' 35th congressional district. Lastly, Bonck defeated Shelly deZevallos by a 29.6 point margin for Texas' 38th congressional district.

On the national level, every single Senate, House, and gubernatorial candidate backed by the President won yesterday. Of the 209 candidates Trump endorsed in 2026, nine candidates for the U.S. Senate won, 101 for the U.S. House and eight for Governor.

Looking forward to the general election in November, one major race to look at will be the Texas Senate, as Democrats hope to turn Texas blue. Paxton's endorsement by the President will influence voters on both sides in his race for the Texas Senate against State Rep. James Talarico.

"Some Republicans I backed won. Some lost. But now our GOP ticket is set — and you can be sure I’ll be supporting every Republican from top to bottom this November. The radical progressive left, led by their new hero James Talarico, is aggressively coming after Texas and the values that make our state strong," State Rep. Jeff Leach posted on X.

This spring's primaries have set the stage for the midterms this fall, with the whole country watching to find out what will happen in Texas.