Senate Republicans begged Trump for months to endorse Sen. John Cornyn, so that the party could avoid a nasty and expensive runoff.
Trump went out of his way to refuse to endorse. Trump went so far as to come to Texas and invite all of the candidates to his event, and then not endorse anyone in the Senate race.
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The Republican primary played out as observers thought it would. Cornyn and Texas AG Ken Paxton are within less than two points of each other and heading to a runoff after none of the candidates got more than 50% of the vote. It was a nightmare result for Trump’s party.
Former Texas political operative Mark McKinnon explained why Republicans are freaking out:
A perfect storm is lining up for Texas Democrats. They have a nominee who can appeal to moderates and soft Republicans. Talarico could be Moses who leads the Lone Star Democrats out of the desert they’ve been in for 35 years.
Now, Trump is reversing course and trying to shut down the Senate runoff with a Bachelor-style reality show where he will pick a nominee through an endorsement, and the other candidate in the runoff will step aside.
