Trump launches flurry of endorsements en route to Texas visit
(Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Friday fired off a flurry of candidate endorsements for primary races in Texas en route to an afternoon visit to the Lone Star State.
Trump took to Truth Social Friday morning sending off endorsements in congressional and statewide races in Texas. Notably absent from the endorsements, the hotly contested race for U.S. Senate. The endorsements come on the final day of early voting for the March 3 primaries.
Trump has consistently refused to give his endorsement to any candidate in the race. Incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt are all expected to be in attendance for the president's speech Friday.
Cornyn on Friday posted that he was aboard Air Force One with Trump on his trip to Corpus Christi.
Other members of Texas' Congressional delegation were also aboard the plane, including Sen. Ted Cruz and Reps. Lance Gooden and Michael Cloud.
Trump endorsements in statewide races
Among Trump's endorsements Friday were a few statewide Texas races.
Trump endorsed longtime ally Gov. Greg Abbott, praising the governor's efforts to facilitate a rare mid-decade redistricting effort in the hopes of bringing five additional seats to the U.S. House of Representatives this fall.
"Thanks to Greg’s bold and effective Leadership, the wonderful people of Texas will have the opportunity to elect 5 new MAGA Republicans in the 2026 Midterm Elections with the passage of their new, fair, and much improved, Congressional Map," Trump said on Truth.
Trump also endorsed Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who the president called "an incredible friend of our movement." Patrick served as the Texas chair of Trump's presidential campaigns in 2016, 2020 and 2024.
Trump endorsements in House races
Trump also sent out endorsements for many of Texas' 38 seats in the House of Representatives.
Many of the endorsements were for incumbents in Republican-held districts.
Trump endorsements of incumbents:
- TX1 – Nathaniel Moran
- TX3 – Keith Self
- TX4 – Pat Fallon
- TX5 – Lance Gooden
- TX6 – Jake Ellzey
- TX11 – August Pfluger
- TX12 – Craig Goldman
- TX13 – Ronny Jackson
- TX14 – Randy Weber
- TX15 – Monica De La Cruz
- TX17 – Pete Sessions
- TX24 – Beth Van Duyne
- TX25 – Roger Williams
- TX26 – Brandon Gill
- TX27 – Michael Cloud
- TX31 – John Carter
- TX36 – Brian Babin
Trump also doled out endorsements in districts where the current incumbent is retiring and in districts that were redrawn to be more favorable to Republicans.
Other Trump endorsements:
- TX8 – Jessica Steinmann
- TX9 – Alex Mealer
- TX10 – Chris Gober
- TX21 – Mark Teixeira
- TX22 – Trever Nehls
- TX32 – Jace Yarbrough
- TX34 – Eric Flores
- TX38 – Jon Bonk
In the cases of Steinmann, Gober and Nehls, each are seeking to replace a retiring Republican.
Mealer, Yarbrough and Flores all find themselves seeking seats in districts that were either redistricted to be more favorable to Republicans or seats thought to be vulnerable that are held by Democrats.
Bonk is seeking the nomination to replace Hunt, who is running for the Republican nomination in the U.S. Senate race.
Notable omissions from Trump's endorsements
The most glaring omission by the president during the Friday endorsement drop is in the U.S. Senate race.
Cornyn, Paxton and Hunt have all tried to get the coveted endorsement, but the president has so far declined.
Last week, Trump declined to make an endorsement when asked about the Senate race.
What they're saying:
"They’ve all supported me, they’re all good, and you’re supposed to pick one, but we’ll see what happens, but I support all three," Trump said.
In south Texas, Rep. Tony Gonzales is seeking the nomination in the 23rd Congressional District. Gonzales has been under fire from his own party after news broke of him having an affair with an ex-staffer and sending sexually explicit messages.
Gonzales is facing a primary challenge from Brandon Herrera, who pushed him to a runoff in the 2024 primaries. The two were separated by less than 400 votes in the runoff.
Trump has previously endorsed Gonzales, but during Friday's flurry of endorsements, the congressman's name and district were noticeably absent.
Another hotly contested primary the president shied away from Friday is in Houston, where incumbent Rep. Dan Crenshaw is facing off against state Rep. Steve Toth for the Republican nomination.
Crenshaw is the only incumbent in Texas that did not get an endorsement from the president.
Trump has backed Toth in his state campaigns previously. Toth picked up an endorsement from Cruz on Thursday.
Friday is the last day of early voting in Texas. Election day is March 3.
The Source: Information in this article comes from posts made by Donald Trump on Truth Social.