2026年4月30日，美国东部时间上午5:00 / CNN
帕特里克·斯维泰克 撰稿
得州总检察长肯·帕克斯顿（左）与参议员约翰·康尼恩。
盖蒂图片社
近两个月前，唐纳德·特朗普总统承诺将很快在得州联邦参议员共和党决选活动中给出背书。
这一背书至今仍未兑现——而它的缺席让这场竞选竞争异常激烈。
三名参与此次竞选的消息人士表示，他们不再期待特朗普会介入参议员约翰·康尼恩与得州总检察长肯·帕克斯顿之间的角逐。不过他们同时警告称，特朗普可能会在5月26日决选前改变主意，这让双方在最后几周都处于紧张状态。
尽管民主党自1994年以来就未曾在得州拿下过全州性选举，但他们推出的联邦参议员候选人是州众议员詹姆斯·塔拉里科，这位候选人正在11月中期选举前激励自由派选民，并筹集了巨额资金。共和党长期以来一直希望避免出现破坏性的决选，以免让塔拉里科有机可乘，他们原本的计划是让特朗普为一名候选人背书，并施压另一名候选人退出竞选。
当时有消息人士告诉CNN，特朗普在3月3日的初选中晋级后，很可能最终会背书康尼恩。不过消息人士称，在共和党幕僚泄露了他的预期背书计划后，特朗普变得十分沮丧。此外，特朗普还接到了一些最忠实支持者的电话，敦促他不要背书康尼恩，并警告称，这对他的“让美国再次伟大”选民基础来说是个错误。
初选结束后，特朗普在海湖庄园举办的晚宴上与帕克斯顿进行了简短会面，这是这位州总检察长为阻止特朗普背书康尼恩而采取的行动之一。帕克斯顿还公开表示，如果参议院绕过阻挠议事程序，通过特朗普支持的选举改革法案《拯救美国法案》，他将考虑退出竞选。
自那以后，特朗普几乎没有谈及这场竞选，包括他是否仍计划在康尼恩和帕克斯顿之间做出选择。
这位总统和其他一些共和党人也不再将塔拉里科视为势不可挡的民主党候选人，因为初选后公布的大量反对研究资料让他们改变了看法。特朗普在3月22日的Truth Social帖子中表示，“任何与塔拉里科竞争的人”都能获胜。
得克萨斯大学周三公布的一项民调显示，共和党人有理由对塔拉里科感到担忧。在假设的大选中，塔拉里科以个位数优势领先康尼恩和帕克斯顿，不过近五分之一的选民表示目前尚无明确倾向。
华盛顿的共和党人长期以来一直希望特朗普背书康尼恩，从而有效结束党内争斗，让共和党能够全力聚焦塔拉里科。
“这简直是一团糟，”一名全国性共和党战略家说道。这位要求匿名以评估竞选局势的战略家指责“多个机构未能尽到自己的职责”。
康尼恩的一些支持者已经承认，特朗普不太可能为这位现任参议员扭转局面。前参议院共和党竞选委员会主席、蒙大拿州参议员史蒂夫·戴恩斯本月早些时候在华盛顿参加Semafor活动时表示，“如果总统介入这场竞选，我会感到惊讶。”
“坦率地说，目前保持中立是件好事，”戴恩斯说道。
两位候选人的支持者仍在争相争取特朗普的背书。
“我认为，他不介入这场竞选的影响是不幸的，因为我们已经在这个本可以用于其他竞争激烈的众议院席位的联邦参议员席位竞选中，投入了数千万甚至数亿美元的资金……用于秋季对抗民主党人，”得克萨斯州众议员纳撒尼尔·莫兰说道，他在初选后背书了康尼恩。
“我知道，在与得州各地的捐助者交谈时，他们都因为这场竞选耗尽了资源，我认为结果会在11月的选举周期中显现出来，因为许多原本需要资金支持的得州竞争激烈的众议院席位将无法获得资助，”莫兰补充道。
这是康尼恩政治生涯中最艰难的一战
参议员约翰·康尼恩于4月20日在美国国会大厦走向投票席。
弗朗西斯·钟/政治报/美联社
康尼恩在3月3日的初选中以1个百分点的优势领先帕克斯顿晋级决选，这甚至超出了部分帕克斯顿支持者的预期。
尽管如此，康尼恩仍处于长期 incumbent为保住政治生涯而陷入的艰难境地。为了在初选中胜出，康尼恩投入了数千万美元的广告开支，这对于这位自1990年以来就一直在全州选举中参选的政客来说是一个不祥之兆。
目前几乎没有独立机构对决选进行民调，大多数民调都来自与民主党团体或共和党候选人结盟的组织。但一名支持康尼恩的工作人员匿名描述了他们对决选的看法，称这场竞争非常接近，称之为“悬而未决的局面”或“掷硬币决定胜负”。
这与帕克斯顿在初选当晚演讲中预测的压倒性胜利大相径庭，当时他暗示自己将像之前两次全州性决选那样，以两位数的优势轻松获胜。
在初选结束后的演讲中，康尼恩提高了对决选期间全面反击帕克斯顿的预期，他表示：“审判日即将到来。”
康尼恩及其盟友持续投放广告攻击帕克斯顿，提及帕克斯顿的妻子、得州州参议员安吉拉·帕克斯顿去年提交离婚申请，并指控他有外遇。帕克斯顿否认了这一指控，在初选中他还投放了展示其他家庭成员的广告。
但到目前为止，决选的斗争相对低调。根据AdImpact的数据，初选期间的广告开支达到1亿美元，而截至周三，决选的广告开支仅为570万美元，几乎全部来自康尼恩及其盟友的团队。预计未来几天的广告宣传战将愈演愈烈。
帕克斯顿也遭遇了逆风
得克萨斯州总检察长肯·帕克斯顿于3月27日在得州葡萄藤市举行的保守派政治行动会议上发表讲话。
莱昂德罗·洛萨达/法新社/盖蒂图片社
即使是康尼恩的一些盟友，也认可帕克斯顿在初选后阻止了特朗普即将背书康尼恩的行动。在特朗普暗示即将给出背书的一天后——《大西洋月刊》和Axios均报道他将支持康尼恩——帕克斯顿宣布，如果参议院共和党人取消阻挠议事程序以通过《拯救美国法案》，他将考虑退出竞选。
六天后，康尼恩宣布他将支持“为通过该立法可能需要的任何参议院规则修改”。
候选人正式退出决选的截止日期已过，特朗普仍未给出背书。此后，特朗普在福克斯新闻的采访中表示，他仍想发布背书，“但我最主要要做的是弄清楚谁能批准《拯救美国法案》。”
得克萨斯州众议员布兰登·吉尔表示，帕克斯顿推动《拯救美国法案》是吉尔在初选后放弃中立立场、转而支持帕克斯顿的“催化剂”。
“我们不需要一个来自得州的参议员，在竞争激烈的共和党初选中还需要被拖到右翼立场才会做正确的事，”吉尔说道。
与康尼恩阵营相比，帕克斯顿的竞选团队和超级政治行动委员会的资金严重不足。本月早些时候，当帕克斯顿似乎即将获得加密行业关联的超级政治行动委员会的重大外部支持时，资深共和党官员公开进行了干预。
为支持康尼恩的超级政治行动委员会工作的特朗普顶级顾问克里斯·拉西维塔，以及全国共和党参议员竞选委员会，都批评了Fellowship PAC最初计划投放近200万美元支持帕克斯顿的广告。该团体未回应置评请求，但已修改了向联邦选举委员会提交的文件，删除了支持帕克斯顿的广告购买计划。
帕克斯顿还一直在争取获得第三位候选人、3月初选中以14%的得票率排名第三的众议员韦斯利·亨特的背书。但亨特周五告诉福克斯新闻，他目前没有参与竞选的计划，并表示他“将遵循总统的领导”。
亨特的言论让帕克斯顿阵营的一些人感到沮丧。采访播出几小时后，一名长期为帕克斯顿工作的助手转发了另一名帕克斯顿支持者的言论，称亨特“缺乏勇气去做他明知正确的事”。
公开场合下，帕克斯顿表现得信心十足。
“我非常乐观。在得州，决选往往更偏向最保守的候选人，”帕克斯顿上个月在达拉斯附近的保守派政治行动会议上说道，这是一场亲特朗普的集会，康尼恩并未出席。
在筹款方面，帕克斯顿对在场的活动人士表示：“我们这次会筹集更多资金。他不会以20比1的优势超过我的支出。”
共和党人仍认为他们能击败塔拉里科
得克萨斯州联邦参议员民主党候选人、州众议员詹姆斯·塔拉里科于3月7日在得州奥斯汀的初选观察派对上与支持者打招呼。
埃里克·盖伊/美联社/资料图
随着特朗普背书的可能性逐渐消失，两位候选人都陆续推出了新的背书阵容。不过，该州最高级别的领导人——州长格雷格·雅培、副州长丹·帕特里克和参议员特德·克鲁兹——仍保持中立。
作为特朗普的亲密盟友，同时担任总统宗教自由委员会主席的帕特里克，最近在奥斯汀的一次演讲中哀叹这场“丑陋的竞选”，并呼吁两位候选人如果未能获胜，就背书对方。两位候选人都兴致缺缺地承诺，将支持最终获得共和党提名的候选人。
与此同时，塔拉里科一直在努力补充竞选资金，此前他在与众议员贾斯敏·克罗克特的激烈初选中胜出，并正在争取支持克罗克特的黑人选民。克罗克特目前尚未背书塔拉里科，而曾在初选中与塔拉里科发生争执的前众议员科林·奥尔雷德已经表态支持他。
塔拉里科在第一季度筹集了创纪录的2700万美元。塔拉里科的竞选财务报告显示，他在该期间的支出几乎与筹款额相当，截至3月底，他的现金储备为990万美元，而康尼恩为820万美元，帕克斯顿为260万美元。
CNN的克里斯汀·霍姆斯和阿莱娜·特里恩为本报告做出了贡献。
‘It’s a mess’: With no Trump endorsement in Texas Senate race, Cornyn and Paxton are locked in an expensive brawl
Apr 30, 2026, 5:00 AM ET / CNN
By Patrick Svitek
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, left, and Sen. John Cornyn.
Getty Images
Nearly two months ago, President Donald Trump promised he would make an endorsement “soon” in the Republican primary runoff for US Senate in Texas.
That endorsement still has not arrived — and its absence is keeping the race highly competitive.
Three people involved in the race said they no longer expected Trump to get involved in the battle between Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. However, they cautioned he could change his mind before the May 26 runoff, keeping both sides on edge in the final weeks.
While Democrats haven’t won statewide in Texas since 1994, they have a Senate nominee in state Rep. James Talarico who is energizing liberals ahead of the November midterms and raising massive sums. Republicans long wanted to avoid a damaging runoff that could make things easier for Talarico, in part by having Trump boost one candidate and pressure the other to back down.
Trump was likely to eventually endorse Cornyn after he and Paxton advanced from a March 3 primary, sources told CNN at the time. However, Trump grew frustrated after Republican operatives leaked his expected plans, the sources said. Trump also fielded calls from some of his most ardent supporters, pushing him not to endorse Cornyn and warning it would be a mistake with his “Make America Great Again” base.
Trump met briefly with Paxton after the primary during a gala held at his Mar-a-Lago residence, part of an effort by the state attorney general to head off a Cornyn endorsement. Paxton also publicly offered to consider ending his candidacy if the Senate bypassed the filibuster to pass a Trump-backed overhaul of election requirements, the proposed Save America Act.
Trump has not said much about the race since then, including whether he still plans to pick between Cornyn and Paxton.
The president and some other Republicans have also cooled on Talarico as a formidable Democratic contender amid a deluge of opposition research released after the primary. Trump said in a March 22 post on Truth Social that “any human being running against” Talarico could win.
A poll released Wednesday by the University of Texas suggests Republicans have reason to be concerned about Talarico. He led both Cornyn and Paxton by single digits in hypothetical general-election matchups, though nearly a fifth of voters in each case said they had no opinion yet.
Washington Republicans had long hoped a Trump endorsement of Cornyn would effectively end an intraparty fight and allow the GOP to fully focus on Talarico.
“It’s a mess,” one national Republican strategist said. Speaking on condition of anonymity to assess the race, the strategist blamed a “failure by multiple entities to do their part.”
Some Cornyn supporters have conceded that Trump is unlikely to save the day for the incumbent. Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, a former chair of Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, said during a Semafor event in Washington earlier this month that he “would be surprised if the president will weigh in on that race.”
“Staying neutral, frankly, would be a good thing at the moment,” Daines said.
Supporters of each candidate continue making the case for a Trump endorsement.
“The impact of him staying out of the race, I think, has been unfortunate because now we’ve spent tens and tens of millions of dollars in a competitive US Senate seat in Texas that could’ve otherwise be used for competitive House seats … against Democrats in the fall,” said US Rep. Nathaniel Moran of Texas, who endorsed Cornyn after the primary.
“I know, talking to donors across Texas, that they are drained of resources because of this race alone, and as a result, you’re going to see the impact, I think, in the election cycle in November because many of the competitive House seats that needed money coming out of Texas won’t happen,” Moran added.
The fight of Cornyn’s political life
Sen. John Cornyn walks to a vote at the US Capitol on April 20.
Francis Chung/Politico/AP
Cornyn entered the runoff after finishing one point ahead of Paxton in the March 3 primary, beating the expectations of even some Paxton supporters.
Still, Cornyn remains in the dire position of a longtime incumbent fighting for his political life. It took tens of millions of dollars in ad spending for Cornyn to get there, an ominous sign for a politician who has been running in statewide elections dating back to 1990.
There has been little independent polling of the runoff, with most surveys coming from groups aligned with Democratic groups or Republican candidates. But one pro-Cornyn operative, speaking on the condition of anonymity to characterize their view of the runoff, described the race as very close, calling it a “jump ball” or “coin toss.”
That would be much different from the blowout that Paxton predicted in his primary night speech, when he suggested he would romp by double digits like he has done in two previous statewide runoffs.
In his own speech after the primary, Cornyn raised expectations for an all-out offensive against Paxton in the runoff, saying, “Judgment Day is coming.”
Cornyn and his allies have continued to savage Paxton with ads citing the fact his wife, Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton, filed for divorce last year and accused him of adultery. Paxton has denied the allegation, and during the primary, he ran ads featuring other members of his family.
But the runoff has been a quieter fight so far. After the primary saw $100 million in ad spending, the runoff tally was just $5.7 million in ad spending as of Wednesday, almost all of it from Cornyn and allied groups, according to AdImpact. The air war is expected to intensify in the coming days.
Paxton has encountered headwinds too
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference in Grapevine, Texas, on March 27.
Leandro Lozada/AFP/Getty Images
Paxton continues to receive credit, even from some people aligned with Cornyn, for preventing what appeared to be an imminent endorsement of Cornyn after the primary. A day after Trump teased an imminent endorsement – The Atlantic and then Axios reported he was set to back Cornyn – Paxton announced he would consider ending his candidacy if Senate Republicans eliminated the filibuster to pass the Save America Act.
Six days later, Cornyn announced he would support “whatever changes to Senate rules that may prove necessary” to pass the legislation.
The deadline for candidates to formally drop out of the runoff came and went without Trump making an endorsement. Afterward, Trump said in a Fox News interview that he still wanted to issue an endorsement, “but the main thing I have to do is find out who’s going to get the Save America Act approved.”
Rep. Brandon Gill of Texas said Paxton’s push on the Save America Act was the “catalyst” for Gill dropping his neutrality and backing Paxton following the primary.
“We don’t need a senator representing Texas, of all places, who has to be dragged to the right in the middle of a contested Republican primary to get him to do the right thing,” Gill said.
Paxton’s campaign and super PAC remain significantly underfunded compared with Cornyn’s side. When it appeared Paxton was about to receive major outside support earlier this month – from a super PAC aligned with the cryptocurrency industry – senior GOP officials intervened publicly.
Both Chris LaCivita, a top Trump adviser working for a pro-Cornyn super PAC, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee criticized the initial plans by the Fellowship PAC to spend almost $2 million on pro-Paxton ads. The group has not responded to requests for comment but amended a filing with the Federal Election Commission to scrub the pro-Paxton ad buy.
Paxton also has been angling for an endorsement from Rep. Wesley Hunt, the third-place primary finisher in the March primary with 14 percent of the vote. But Hunt told Fox News on Friday that he had no current plans to get involved, saying he was “following the lead of the president.”
Hunt’s comments frustrated some in Paxton’s world. Hours after the interview aired, a longtime Paxton aide reposted another Paxton supporter who said Hunt “lacks the courage to do what he knows is right.”
Publicly, Paxton has voiced confidence.
“I’m very optimistic. In Texas, runoffs tend to favor the most conservative person,” Paxton said last month at the Conservative Political Action Conference near Dallas, a Trump-friendly gathering that Cornyn skipped.
As for fundraising, Paxton told the crowd of activists: “We’re going to raise more money this time. He’s not going to outspend me 20 to 1.”
Republicans still think they’ll beat Talarico
Texas state Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for US Senate, greets supporters at a primary election watch party in Austin, Texas, on March 3.
Eric Gay/AP/File
Both have rolled out new rounds of endorsements as the specter of a Trump endorsement has appeared to fade. Still, the state’s highest-ranking leaders – Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Sen. Ted Cruz – have continued to stay neutral.
Patrick, a close Trump ally who chairs his Presidential Religious Liberty Commission, used a recent speech in Austin to lament the “nasty race” and call on each candidate to endorse the other if they do not win. Both candidates have promised, with little enthusiasm, to support the eventual GOP nominee.
Talarico, meanwhile, has been focused on replenishing his campaign coffers after a competitive primary against Rep. Jasmine Crockett and reaching out to Black voters who supported her. Crockett has not endorsed Talarico so far, while former Rep. Colin Allred – who feuded with Talarico during the primary – has backed him.
Talarico raised a record-breaking $27 million in the first quarter. Talarico’s campaign finance report showed he spent nearly as much over the period, ending March with $9.9 million cash on hand compared with Cornyn’s $8.2 million and Paxton’s $2.6 million.
CNN’s Kristen Holmes and Alayna Treene contributed to this report.