Trump says he will endorse in Texas Senate race.

By TIM BALK and REID J. EPSTEIN

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he would soon pick a candidate to endorse in the Texas Senate primary runoff between Sen. John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton — and called on whomever he doesn’t pick to drop out. In a social media post, Trump did not specify when he’d announce an endorsement but stressed that Republicans must hold on to the seat in November.

The winner off the runoff, set for May 26, will face James Talarico, a state lawmaker and seminarian who won the Democratic primary, defeating Rep. Jasmine Crockett. “We’re about to take back Texas,” he said in a statement Wednesday, projecting confidence about a seat Democrats are hoping to flip in a bid to take control of the Senate.

The Texas Senate primaries were the marquee contests Tuesday night, but there were other notable races in the state: Rep. Al Green, a brash 11-term Democrat known for acts of protest at Trump’s State of the Union speeches, was headed to his own runoff with a newcomer to Congress, Rep. Christian Menefee, according to The Associated Press.

The generational clash between Green, 78, and Menefee, 37, comes after the two representatives were effectively drawn in the summer into the same Houston-area district. A third Democrat on the ballot, Amanda Edwards, prevented either candidate from reaching the outright majority needed to advance to a general election under Texas’ electoral system.

Their runoff was taking shape just as the dust was settling from the Democratic Senate primary. Crockett, who conceded Wednesday after a race marred by voter confusion, said in a statement that the party “must remain united because this is bigger than any one person.”

Earlier Wednesday, it had not been clear whether Crockett would concede immediately after The Associated Press called the race for Talarico or whether a last-minute legal fight over Dallas County’s voting procedures would slow Democrats’ pivot to the general election. Crockett had told supporters at her election party Tuesday night that people had “been disenfranchised” in Dallas County.

But Wednesday morning, Crockett called Talarico and left him a voicemail message congratulating him on his victory. Talarico received the message around 6:30 a.m. local time, according to his campaign.

Still, in a text message exchange with The New York Times, Crockett wrote that she would not commit to campaigning with Talarico, and that party officials needed to ensure every primary vote was counted or risk alienating her supporters.

Here’s what else to know:

— Republican runoff: In the Republican race in Texas, Cornyn, the embattled incumbent, was headed for a May runoff against Paxton, the state’s scandal-plagued attorney general, after neither candidate won the outright majority needed to advance under the state’s electoral system. Rep. Wesley Hunt finished a distant third.

— Dallas voting: After new rules about locations caused voter confusion in Dallas County, the ballot-counting process was plunged into uncertainty by a pair of court rulings Tuesday. First a state district judge ordered county polling stations to remain open for two extra hours. Then the Texas Supreme Court temporarily blocked the lower-court ruling and ordered that officials separate any ballots that came in during the extended period.

— Photo finish in North Carolina: The primary race for the state Senate seat in North Carolina held by Phil Berger, widely considered the most powerful Republican elected official in the state, remained too close to call Tuesday night, according to The Associated Press.

— Gonzales investigation: The House Ethics Committee said Wednesday it would investigate Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, who is in a runoff for his House seat after allegations that he had coerced a sexual relationship with a staff member who later died by suicide. Gonzales failed to get 50% of the vote in a Republican primary against Brandon Herrera, a hard-line conservative, YouTuber and gun rights advocate.