Think about working for greater workplace, solely to have your individual social gathering inform you that it’s egocentric and that they don’t need you as a colleague. That’s mainly what occurred to GOP Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas.
On Monday, Hunt introduced that he’s leaping into the already crowded GOP Senate main, taking up each Sen. John Cornyn and Legal professional Basic Ken Paxton.
GOP Sen. John Cornyn of Texas
“The U.S. Senate race in Texas must be about more than a petty feud between two men who have spent months trading barbs,” Hunt mentioned in an announcement asserting his bid. “With my candidacy, this race will finally be about what’s most important: Texas.”
In an interview with The Related Press, Hunt added that polling exhibits that “people want an alternative, and I’m going to give it to them.”
However the numbers don’t actually again that up. Cornyn has clawed again what was as soon as an enormous polling hole with Paxton, and Hunt’s entry may make issues even messier.
“The time is NOW,” Hunt wrote on X, alongside a marketing campaign video heavy on testimonials from his spouse, brother, and army colleagues—plus footage of him with President Donald Trump. Neither Cornyn nor Paxton was talked about.
Hunt, a detailed Trump ally, has been laying the groundwork to hitch the Senate race for months. Whereas he’s principally stayed out of the Cornyn-Paxton battle in public, he and teams tied to him have poured greater than $6 million into adverts boosting his profile statewide. And his allies say that he’s a greater match for the MAGA base than Cornyn—with out all of Paxton’s authorized baggage.
His entry upends what’s already one of the risky Senate primaries of 2026—and it may all however assure a runoff.
GOP Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas with President Donald Trump
However not everybody’s thrilled.
GOP leaders have made it clear that they’d reasonably Hunt keep within the Home. High Republicans—together with these on the Nationwide Republican Senatorial Committee—have warned that his marketing campaign can be a “vanity project” that wastes cash and dangers the social gathering’s Senate majority.
“This is not a vanity project. This is about giving the people of Texas a viable alternative,” Hunt informed the AP. “Let’s stop the exercise in futility and get the right person for the job.”
Nonetheless, the NRSC doubled down on Monday, overtly siding with Cornyn.
“John Cornyn is a battle-tested conservative who continues to be a leader in delivering President Trump’s agenda in the U.S. Senate,” NRSC Communications Director Joanna Rodriguez mentioned. “Now that Wesley has chosen personal ambition over holding President Trump’s House Majority, there will be a full vetting of his record. Senator Cornyn’s conservative record of accomplishment stands tall against Wesley’s.”
Cornyn, a 23-year Senate veteran, has been a lightning rod for the GOP base ever since he backed a bipartisan gun security invoice in 2022 and questioned Trump’s endurance in 2024. However Paxton has hammered him for it, framing Cornyn as out of contact with Texas conservatives.
Each have been chasing Trump’s endorsement—one thing that Hunt will now additionally should compete for. The president hasn’t but made his choose.
A 43-year-old former Military captain, Hunt may even should introduce himself to voters exterior of his Houston-area district to beat Cornyn’s and Paxton’s statewide title recognition. And he’s up towards severe cash: Cornyn’s operation pulled in $3.9 million final quarter, whereas Paxton raised $2.9 million. Hunt, nevertheless, introduced in simply over $400,000.
Texas Legal professional Basic Ken Paxton
In line with The Texas Tribune, Cornyn allies have already spent roughly $19 million on adverts, most of which tout his pro-Trump voting document and assault Paxton’s scandals—together with the revelation that Paxton improperly claimed a number of properties as his main residence to acquire higher mortgage charges.
In the meantime, Paxton hasn’t but spent huge on adverts, however his private drama looms giant, having survived each an impeachment effort and a federal corruption probe. His spouse, state Sen. Angela Paxton, not too long ago filed for divorce and accused him of adultery—deepening issues about his electability.
Hunt’s resolution to run additionally opens his solidly Republican thirty eighth Congressional District, which backed Trump by 20 factors in 2024. Between retirements and Texas’ new GOP-tilted districts, that’s no less than seven open seats that could possibly be up for grabs—making certain expensive and chaotic primaries throughout the state.
On the Democratic aspect, the first can also be heating up. Former Rep. Colin Allred, who narrowly misplaced to Sen. Ted Cruz in 2024, faces state Rep. James Talarico, a rising progressive star identified for preventing Texas’ mid-decade redistricting.
Senate GOP management stays firmly behind Cornyn, with a prime Tremendous PAC already spending greater than $8 million to guard him. However for now, the most important query is whether or not Trump will step in or keep out lengthy sufficient to let his allies tear one another aside.
Get your popcorn prepared. Texas Republicans are in for one brutal brawl.
