Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn is going on offense following a recent Federal Election Commission (FEC) letter to GOP primary opponent Attorney General Ken Paxtonâs campaign stating that the campaign accepted half a million dollars in potentially illegal contributions.
Cornynâs reelection campaign rolled out a new digital ad Wednesday hammering Paxton for taking in more than $650,000 in campaign donations from over 100 donors that exceeded contribution limits in violation of federal law during the second fundraising quarter. The attack ad is the latest salvo from Cornyn and his allies seeking to harm Paxtonâs standing with voters as the incumbent senator views for his fifth Senate term.
âKen Paxtonâs Senate campaign just got busted,â the 35-second ad says, referring to the FEC letter sent to Paxtonâs campaign on Sunday. âMore than 100 potential illegal donations worth $658,000 allotted for the primary.â
âFrom the state having to pay settlements to whistleblowers speaking out against Ken Paxton, failing to report income, to these latest campaign finance violations, itâs clear that Texas cannot trust Ken Paxton,â the ad continues.
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The FEC probe into the Paxton campaignâs political contributions was first reported by the San Antonio Current. Federal regulators are demanding the Paxton campaign provide a detailed response by Sept 22 regarding the âapparent excessive, prohibited, and impermissible contributions.â
The ad also slams Paxton for allegedly violating campaign finance rules during his 2022 attorney general reelection campaign for failing to disclose a large chunk of his donors on time.
âCrooked Ken Paxton may be the stateâs chief law enforcement officer, but every single day he demonstrates his intentional and indefensible failure to follow the law,â Cornyn campaign senior advisor Matt Mackowiak said in a statement. âWith federal individual contribution limits of $3,500, it may be unprecedented for a candidate for U.S. Senate to have $650,000+ in potentially illegal contributions in one quarterly report, which totals nearly Âź of all money he raised in the quarter.â
Recent polling indicates the pro-Cornyn groupsâ concerted ad blitz as of late could be narrowing Paxtonâs polling advantage. An Emerson College survey released Friday showed Cornyn leading Paxton 30% to 29% with a large swath of voters undecided.
Another public pollpublished Tuesday found Cornyn has cut Paxtonâs lead in half over the past three months. The Texas Southern University survey showed Paxton with a five percentage point lead over the incumbent in a head-to-head matchup with neither candidate reaching the 50% threshold to avoid a run-off contest. The last TSU survey in May found Paxton with a nine percentage point lead over Cornyn.
Cornyn backers are expressing confidence that the race will continue to tighten as pro-Cornyn groups paint the airwaves promoting the incumbentâs voting record and spotlighting Paxtonâs ethical controversies.
âAnd we havenât punched him yet,â Chris LaCivita, a top Trump political consultant serving as a senior advisor to a pro-Cornyn super PAC, wrote on the social media platform X on Friday in response to the Emerson College survey.
Paxton took a victory lap for suing the investment giant Vanguard who manages at least 1.6 million of his personal wealth, the Daily Caller News Foundation first reported.
âAfter getting outraised by more than $2 million last quarter, John Cornyn is desperately trying to lie about a routine campaign finance process in a pathetic bid for attention,â Paxton campaign advisor Nick Maddux said in a statement to the DNCF. âHe is fully aware that Attorney General Paxton is well within the 60-day period to complete this process, but heâll make up any blatant lie to distract from his liberal, anti-Trump record.â
Editorâs note: This story has been updated to reflect the statement from Paxtonâs campaign, sent post-publication.
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