Trump endorses GOP rival of Texas pastor who ran against him

As early voting will get underway in Texas, President Donald Trump has thrown his assist behind a U.S. Air Power veteran in a crowded GOP main for a newly redrawn congressional district. 

The president’s endorsement of Jace Yarbrough within the thirty second Congressional District is more likely to ship a high-profile increase that notably bypasses fellow candidate Ryan Binkley, a pastor and businessman who beforehand challenged Trump within the 2024 GOP presidential race.

Along with Yarbrough and Binkley, seven different Republican candidates for the thirty second District seat are additionally competing within the March 3 main: James Ussery, Darrell Day, Paul Bondar, Gordon Heslop, Monty Montanez, Abteen Vaziri and Aimee Carrasco.

Redrawn by state lawmakers in 2025, the thirty second District has shifted dramatically from Democratic-leaning to solidly Republican territory. The congressional seat — at the moment held by Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Texas, since 2025 and beforehand held by former Democrat Rep. Colin Allred, who’s now looking for defeat his successor within the Democratic Major in a bid to return to Congress — spans elements of Dallas, Collin and Rockwall counties within the Dallas-Fort Price metroplex, and extends eastward into Hunt, Rains, Wooden, Camp and Upshur counties.

Trump’s endorsement posted Monday on Reality Social praises Yarbrough lavishly as an “America First Patriot” who has the president’s “complete and total endorsement.”

Trump additionally praised Yarbrough’s means to “create jobs, cut taxes and regulations, promote MADE IN THE U.S.A., unleash American energy dominance, and champion our nation’s Golden Age.”

Yarbrough, a U.S. Air Power veteran and constitutional legislation lawyer, has positioned himself as a staunch defender of constitutional freedoms and the America First agenda. His marketing campaign web site highlights his resistance to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate throughout his navy service as proof of his willingness to struggle for conservative rules. Yarbrough beforehand ran for Texas Senate District 30 in 2024 however misplaced in a runoff.

The endorsement from Trump comes as a transparent sign in a area that features Binkley, the founder and senior pastor of Create Church and CEO of mergers and acquisitions agency Generational Group. Binkley entered the race with a kickoff occasion in September and boasts endorsements from Evangelical figures corresponding to First Liberty Institute’s Kelly Shackelford, Religion and Freedom Coalition founder Ralph Reed, and varied pastors and group leaders.

The Christian Submit requested remark from the campaigns of Binkley and Yarbrough, and can replace this text if responses are acquired. 

Binkley gained minor nationwide consideration in 2024 as Trump’s solely challenger on the Nevada GOP caucus poll, the place he acquired 381 votes in comparison with Trump’s overwhelming dominance of greater than 99% of the vote. He later dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Trump.

Early voting in Texas started Tuesday, with the first set for March 3. 

Whereas Trump has already weighed in on the thirty second District race, the president has but to sign who will finally earn his assist in a Republican Senate main race in Texas that options three GOP figures who’re intently aligned with Trump.

In a late-night change Monday with reporters aboard Air Power One, Trump stated the race nonetheless has “a ways to go” between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and challengers Texas Legal professional Basic Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, based on The Hill.