Trump withholds endorsement in tight Texas Senate race, says SAVE Act is ‘X factor’

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump said he will not support a candidate yet in the heated Texas Republican Senate runoff. This suggests that support for a major election bill could influence his decision to back a candidate.

The high-stakes race is between longtime Texas Senator John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. It has divided the GOP and drawn significant attention from Trump supporters.

A pivotal GOP runoff

President Donald Trump told NBC News on Saturday he is holding off on endorsing a Republican candidate for Senate in Texas for now.

Trump wants to see if Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and other Republicans can get the SAVE America Act passed.

“A lot has to do with the SAVE America Act. A lot is going to determine, Republicans have to get that passed, because that will secure voting in this country,” Trump said. 

In the last few weeks, the president has been pushing hard for the law, which would require people to show ID to vote in federal elections.

If Cornyn can help it pass the Senate, that might be enough to secure Trump's support against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who will run against the current president in a runoff on May 26.

Trump says he likes Cornyn

Trump’s endorsement could prove decisive in the race, given his continued influence among Republican voters in Texas.

“I’ll let you know that over the next week or so,” Trump said when asked if he would endorse Cornyn. “I like him. I always liked him.”

The senator has been determined to win Trump over.

Just last week, Cornyn announced he had changed his position on the Senate filibuster rule. He previously believed the rule, which requires 60 votes to end debate on bills, was important.

Now, however, he says it is not as crucial as the SAVE Act, which he supports. According to Cornyn, Democrats are using the filibuster to block bills that most people support.

“When the reality on the ground changes, leaders must take stock and adapt,” Cornyn wrote in a New York Post op-ed. 

CNN data analyst Harry Enten recently reported that most Americans support voter ID laws. Enten highlighted a Pew poll that found 71 per cent of Democrats and 95 per cent of Republicans support the legislation.

“Normally, you might expect hey, there’d be a big divide by party, with Republicans really for it and Democrats really against it,” Enten said. “But not really here.”

Trump told NBC News that he appreciated Cornyn's support for eliminating the filibuster “very much.” However, it was not enough to earn his endorsement, at least for now.