GoKawiilTrumpworld is now turning its attention to the next set of primaries that could have a big impact on November’s midterm elections. So today it’s all eyes on the upcoming primary races Republican strategists tell me are next on the priority list for the White House: Texas, California, and Maine.
Showdown in Texas
President Donald Trump made a last-minute endorsement on Tuesday in the Senate primary runoff in Texas, throwing his support behind attorney general Ken Paxton over incumbent John Cornyn. Trump’s political strategists are already getting ready for any fallout.
The primary is on May 26 and the president’s decision to make an endorsement just a week beforehand caught some of his own aides by surprise, sources familiar with the dynamics inside the White House told WIRED. But on Truth Social, Trump said he was backing Paxton because the candidate has “gone through a lot.”
Indeed Paxton has. In 2023, he faced impeachment charges; he took a plea deal in 2024 and paid roughly $300,000 in restitution—without admitting guilt—to avoid a felony securities fraud trial. And in 2025, he was accused of adultery by his wife, who filed for divorce on “biblical grounds.” He also faced a yearslong federal grand jury investigation into his alleged misuse of office, which the DOJ closed without charges in the last weeks of Joe Biden's presidency.
Paxton’s baggage means that should he defeat Cornyn, as many in Washington now expect following Trump’s endorsement, it will come with consequences for Republicans later in the midterms, and for the White House as it deals with Congress.
Chief among the concerns is whether Paxton’s history and his framing as the MAGA candidate might be too objectionable to voters in the general election in November, making Democrats more energized because they see Paxton as easier to beat than Cornyn.
As a result, if the Democratic candidate James Talarico can emulate Beto O’Rourke in 2018 and post big fundraising numbers from small-dollar donors, Republicans would need to respond by spending more themselves—money that could have been used for vulnerable Republicans in other races.
Meanwhile, the White House will now have to focus on whether Trump’s endorsement will upend dynamics in the Senate for the next six months until the midterms, two longtime Republican campaign strategists told WIRED.
Senator Bill Cassidy, apparently furious with Trump after losing his primary in Louisiana last week, has already started making clear his opposition to the president’s legislative priorities. The fear is that Cornyn may soon feel the same way.
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