Trump promises to endorse either Cornyn or Paxton – and to push the other to drop out

By Kristen Holmes, Alayna Treene, Ted Barrett, Manu Raju, Morgan Rimmer, Sarah Ferris, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he would be endorsing in Texas’ Republican primary for US Senate between incumbent John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton – and demanding that the candidate he doesn’t choose drop out.

“IT MUST STOP NOW!” The president wrote on Truth Social of the primary race. “We have an easy to beat, Radical Left Opponent, and we have to TOTALLY FOCUS on putting him away, quickly and decisively! Both John and Ken ran great races, but not good enough. Now, this one, must be PERFECT! “

Trump added that he would ask the other candidate “to immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE!”

The president’s announcement comes after months of staying neutral in the nasty Texas GOP primary that is now set to become a bruising and expensive runoff election.

As Trump decides, top Senate Republicans ramped up a furious push to persuade the president to endorse Cornyn. They pointed to Cornyn leading Paxton after Tuesday’s results, which they say proves that he can win the 12-week runoff.

“If the president endorses early, it saves everybody a lot of money,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said of the runoff, where national Republicans are expected to spend tens of millions to support the incumbent.

Thune added that Republicans are eager to avoid “10 weeks of a spirited campaign on our side that keeps us from spending time focusing on the Democrats.”

This latest push by Thune and other GOP senators to get Trump fully behind Cornyn carries more urgency than in past months. The winner of the GOP primary will face off against the one Democrat that party leaders hoped they would not face in November: state Sen. James Talarico.

The 36-year-old seminarian has run a campaign designed to pry moderate voters away from the GOP and is widely considered a greater threat to Republicans than liberal firebrand Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who came in second place.

“Of course, it’s not helpful,” Thune said of Talarico’s name at the top of the ticket for Democrats, before adding: “Which is why if the president can weigh in, it would be enormously helpful.”

Republicans also fear Talarico and national Democrats could have another edge in the race, since Talarico isn’t facing a runoff.

Sen. John Barrasso, the No. 2 Senate Republican, stressed that the party needed to rally behind Cornyn as they work to combat higher-than-expected Democratic turnout in the primary on Tuesday, which has raised alarm bells across the GOP. He insisted that only Cornyn can beat a highly motivated Democratic electorate.

“There were actually more Democrats that voted in the primary than Republicans that voted in the primary, which shows that the Democrats in Texas are motivated,” Barrasso said. “John Cornyn wins that race for the Republicans and for the people of Texas. I support him fully.”

“It’s time for us to come together as a Republican Party and let’s get John Cornyn back here,” added Sen. John Curtis of Utah.

For his part, Paxton has said he hopes to get “closer on the money” with Cornyn and warned nominating him would lead to “six more years of … a guy that’s going to work against the values that we believe in.” In a radio interview, the Texas attorney general spoke with Hunt on Tuesday night and has said he hopes the congressman will “give us a little lift” by encouraging his supporters to side with the Paxton camp in the run-off.

“His decision is his decision, and I respect that, and I’m certainly hopeful that he’ll help us to beat John Cornyn,” Paxton said Wednesday in an interview with The Chris Salcedo Show.

At least one Republican who has stayed neutral in the race said Wednesday he intends to maintain that position. Sen. Ted Cruz told reporters that he will not be endorsing Cornyn or Paxton in May’s runoff.

“John Cornyn is a good friend of mine, Ken Paxton is a good friend of mine. I have endorsed both of them previously, I’ve campaigned with both of them previously, and as I’ve said from the beginning of this race, I’m staying out of the race. I trust the voters of Texas,” Cruz said.

Pressed on if he’ll remain neutral through the runoff, he said, “Yes.”

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CNN’s Arlette Saenz, Alison Main and Morgan Leason contributed to this report.