Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn is going on offense following a recent Federal Election Commission (FEC) letter to GOP primary opponent Attorney General Ken Paxton’s campaign stating that the campaign accepted half a million dollars in potentially illegal contributions.
Cornyn’s 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 Paxton’s standing with voters as the incumbent senator views for his fifth Senate term.
“Ken Paxton’s Senate campaign just got busted,” the 35-second ad says, referring to the FEC letter sent to Paxton’s campaign on Sunday. “More than 100 potential illegal donations worth $658,000 allotted for the primary.”
“From the state having to pay settlements to whistleblowers speaking out against Ken Paxton, failing to report income, to these latest campaign finance violations, it’s clear that Texas cannot trust Ken Paxton,” the ad continues.
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The FEC probe into the Paxton campaign’s 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 “apparent excessive, prohibited, and impermissible contributions.”
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.
“Crooked Ken Paxton may be the state’s chief law enforcement officer, but every single day he demonstrates his intentional and indefensible failure to follow the law,” Cornyn campaign senior advisor Matt Mackowiak said in a statement. “With 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 ¼ of all money he raised in the quarter.”
Recent polling indicates the pro-Cornyn groups’ concerted ad blitz as of late could be narrowing Paxton’s polling advantage. An Emerson College survey released Friday showed Cornyn leading Paxton 30% to 29% with a large swath of voters undecided.
Another public poll published Tuesday found Cornyn has cut Paxton’s 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 incumbent’s voting record and spotlighting Paxton’s ethical controversies.
“And we haven’t punched him yet,” 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.
“After 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,” Paxton campaign advisor Nick Maddux said in a statement to the DNCF. “He is fully aware that Attorney General Paxton is well within the 60-day period to complete this process, but he’ll make up any blatant lie to distract from his liberal, anti-Trump record.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the statement from Paxton’s campaign, sent post-publication.
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