Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on February 28, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
OAN Staff Addie Davis 2:12 PM – Thursday, March 5, 2026
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton publicly offered on Thursday to consider dropping out of the U.S. Senate primary runoff if Senate Republican leadership agrees to a specific condition.
Paxton announced in an X post that he would consider dropping out of the Senate race if the leadership lifted the filibuster and passed the SAVE America Act.
“The SAVE America Act is the most important bill the U.S. Senate could ever pass, and I’m committed to helping President Trump get it done,” Paxton (R-Texas) said in the post. “I would consider dropping out of this race if Senate Leadership agrees to lift the filibuster and passes the SAVE America Act.”
The Save America Act is the most important bill the U.S. Senate could ever pass, and I’m committed to helping President Trump get it done.
I would consider dropping out of this race if Senate Leadership agrees to lift the filibuster and passes the SAVE America Act.
John Cornyn…
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) March 5, 2026
Incumbent U.S. Senator John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton are competing in a May 26th run-off election after neither candidate reached the 50% threshold in Tuesday’s Republican primary.
The winner will face the Democrat nominee, State Representative James Talarico, who won his primary outright against Representative Jasmine Crockett. Meanwhile, the SAVE America Act, which requires proof of citizenship to register to vote, passed the House in February but currently faces an uncertain path in the Senate.
“John Cornyn is a coward who has refused to support abolishing the filibuster to pass this bill,” Paxton stated.
While a bill only needs 51 votes to pass the Senate, it effectively requires 60 votes to overcome a filibuster and reach the floor for a final vote.
“The Senate filibuster has effectively set a 60-vote supermajority threshold for passing many types of legislation through the Senate,” according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
While the filibuster was once a rare tool saved for the most heated national debates, the Brennan Center notes it has now become a standard partisan tactic used to block even routine legislation.
The Hill reported that Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) cast doubt on the prospect of ending the filibuster, even as pressure mounts from within his party to clear a path for the SAVE America Act.
“You guys know where the votes are on the filibuster. That’s not going to happen,” he told reporters on Thursday, according to the outlet.
Cornyn quickly later countered Paxton’s proposal, taking to social media to reaffirm his unwavering support for the SAVE America Act while avoiding any commitment to the procedural rule changes Paxton demanded.
“I support the bill and have encouraged Senate Republicans to get it done,” Cornyn emphasized.
I repeat what I have consistently said: I support the bill and have encouraged Senate Republicans to get it done. https://t.co/tKP6u8b6Mn
On Wednesday, President Trump took to Truth Social to issue an ultimatum regarding the Texas Senate runoff, announcing he would soon endorse a candidate — while expecting the person left out to withdraw immediately.
Framing the move as necessary for the good of the GOP, Trump pointed to his nearly perfect record of successful Texas endorsements as proof of his influence.
However, the post drew a swift reaction on X from former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, marking another chapter in the ongoing tension between the former allies over the direction of the Republican Party.
“This is wrong and the people of Texas should be able to vote for WHOEVER THEY WANT!!! NOT the candidate Trump demands,” she asserted.
Trump now says he is going to endorse either Cornyn or Paxton and demands that whoever does not get his endorsement must drop out of the runoff.
This is wrong and the people of Texas should be able to vote for WHOEVER THEY WANT!!!
— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) March 4, 2026
While The Atlantic reports that Trump’s inner circle expects him to back Cornyn for the sake of “electability,” the race remains a volatile standoff.
Speaking with Real America’s Voice, Paxton remained defiant, vowing to stay in the runoff even if the president endorses his opponent. This prompted a cryptic response from Trump.
In a subsequent POLITICO interview, he suggested that Paxton’s refusal to yield might actually cause him to “lean in the other direction,” keeping both candidates — and the Texas GOP — on edge.
“Well, that’s bad for him to say,” Trump said. “That is bad for him. So maybe, maybe that leads me to go the other direction.”
Paxton said in his Thursday post that “no one has been more loyal to Donald Trump” than him.
If Talarico wins in November, he would be the first Democrat elected to the Senate in Texas in nearly four decades, according to Fox News.
“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 said in his Truth Social post.
“We must win in November!!!” he added.
The 2026 midterms carry the potential to reshape the Senate’s power structure. Republicans currently hold a 53-seat majority, while Democrats control 45 seats and rely on two allied independents, Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Angus King (I-Maine), to bring their voting bloc to 47.
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