President Trump threw his weight behind Jace Yarbrough in the Republican primary for Texas's 32nd Congressional District, calling the Air Force veteran and constitutional law attorney an "America First Patriot" in an endorsement posted on Truth Social Monday.
The Christian Post reported that the endorsement landed just as early voting opened in Texas on Tuesday, with the primary set for March 3.
It also draws a clear line in a crowded GOP field of nine candidates, one of whom happens to be the pastor and businessman who challenged Trump himself in the 2024 presidential race.
Trump gave Yarbrough his "complete and total endorsement," praising the candidate's commitment to the agenda that has defined the Republican Party's direction. Trump said Yarbrough would:
"Create jobs, cut taxes and regulations, promote MADE IN THE U.S.A., unleash American energy dominance, and champion our nation's Golden Age."
That's not a vague nod of approval. It's a full-spectrum alignment with Trump's economic and energy platform, delivered to a candidate whose biography backs it up.
Yarbrough is a U.S. Air Force veteran and constitutional law attorney who has positioned himself as a staunch defender of constitutional freedoms and the America First agenda. His campaign website highlights his resistance to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate during his military service, a move that resonated deeply with the GOP base.
Yarbrough previously ran for Texas Senate District 30 in 2024, losing in a runoff. Now he's back, running for a congressional seat in a district that state lawmakers redrew in 2025, shifting it from Democratic-leaning to solidly Republican territory.
Then there's Ryan Binkley. The founder and senior pastor of Create Church and CEO of Generational Group, Binkley entered the 32nd District race with a September kickoff event and a roster of evangelical endorsements, including First Liberty Institute's Kelly Shackelford and Faith and Freedom Coalition founder Ralph Reed.
Impressive names. But there's a detail that matters more in a Republican primary where Trump's endorsement is currency: Binkley ran against Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential race.
He was, in fact, Trump's only challenger on the Nevada GOP caucus ballot that year. Binkley received 381 votes.
Trump captured more than 99% of the vote. Binkley later dropped out and endorsed Trump, but the original decision to challenge him is the kind of thing a primary electorate remembers.
Evangelical credentials and business success are real assets. Running against the man whose endorsement now defines Republican primaries is not.
Beyond Yarbrough and Binkley, seven other Republicans are competing for the nomination: James Ussery, Darrell Day, Paul Bondar, Gordon Heslop, Monty Montanez, Abteen Vaziri, and Aimee Carrasco. In a field that large, a Trump endorsement doesn't just help. It reorganizes the entire race.
The 32nd District now covers Dallas, Collin, and Rockwall counties, along with Hunt, Rains, Wood, Camp, and Upshur counties.
The seat is currently held by Rep. Julie Johnson, a Democrat who has represented the district since 2025. Former Democrat Rep. Colin Allred, who previously held the seat, is now seeking to challenge Johnson in the Democratic primary in a bid to return to Congress.
Let the Democrats sort out their own family dispute. The real action is on the Republican side, where a redrawn district that shifted solidly into GOP territory means the primary winner is almost certainly the next congressman.
The Yarbrough endorsement isn't the only Texas play on Trump's radar. In a late-night exchange with reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said the Texas GOP Senate primary race, featuring incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, still has "a ways to go." No endorsement there. Not yet.
That restraint is its own signal. Trump is picking his spots carefully in Texas, intervening decisively where the choice is clear and holding back where the field is still developing.
The 32nd District endorsement was not a casual gesture. It was a calculated move to install a veteran, a constitutionalist, and a proven America First loyalist in a seat Republicans are poised to flip.
March 3 will tell the rest of the story. But in a nine-candidate primary, Trump just made sure the voters know exactly where he stands.