Should Trump endorse Cornyn? Some Texas Republicans say it would be a MAGA 'mistake'

President Donald Trump is weighing an endorsement in the Texas Republican Senate runoff, and some state party members say he risks backing the wrong candidate

President Donald Trump likes to say that no one understands the Make America Great Again movement like him, its founder and undisputed champion. But as he weighs which candidate to endorse in the U.S. Senate runoff in Texas, some of the state’s Republicans fear he may be out of step with what his base wants.

In interviews with The Associated Press, several said it would be a mistake for Trump to endorse four-term incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, a favorite of the Washington establishment, over conservative crusader Ken Paxton, the state attorney general.

“Some of his hardest and most ardent supporters will see this as a slap in the face," said Tom Oliverson, a Houston-area lawmaker who leads the Republican caucus in the Texas House.

Steve Toth, a Republican state lawmaker from The Woodlands who recently defeated incumbent Rep. Dan Crenshaw, said "what the president doesn’t understand here in Texas is the amount of frustration that Texas voters have with John Cornyn.”

Since Trump remains widely popular in the state, “I don’t think it’s a mistake that’s going to hurt him,” Toth said. “But do I think it’s a mistake for him to possibly endorse John Cornyn? Yes, I do.”