Wesley Hunt Shakes Up Brutal Texas Senate Race

Republican Texas Rep. Wesley Hunt just threw a wrench into Sen. John Cornyn’s reelection plans.

Hunt, a two-term House Republican, entered the contested Senate primary on Monday following months of speculation about whether the Houston-area lawmaker would spurn Senate GOP leadership and take a shot at unseating John Cornyn. The incumbent senator has been engaged in a primary dogfight against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton since the early spring and Hunt believes he is best positioned to win a crowded primary — and the general election.

“What I’ve seen in polling over the past few months is people want an alternative, and I’m going to give it to them,” Hunt told The Associated Press, which first reported his Senate run.

Hunt fueled rumors that he would disrupt the bitter primary fight as groups linked to him have spent millions on statewide ads throughout Texas this year.

The ad blitz comes as the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, has criticized Hunt for considering a Senate run. Both Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the NRSC are firmly behind Cornyn’s quest for a fifth term.

The NRSC sent a memo in September urging donors to refrain from contributing to Hunt’s floated Senate campaign and persuade the Texas Republican to run for reelection in the House. The document also cited six polls conducted in August showing Cornyn trailing Paxton by an average of four percentage points, arguing the two-way contest “has closed to a statistical tie.”

“It’s time for the vanity project that could cost Republicans control of the Senate and dilute our resources to end,” the memo read in part.

Trump has repeatedly said he likes both Cornyn and Paxton and has voiced frustration that he could be forced to pick a horse. It is unclear if Hunt’s entry into the field could change Trump’s thinking on the race.

Cornyn’s polling deficit has considerably narrowed against Paxton in recent months as pro-Cornyn groups have blasted the airwaves reinforcing the incumbent with positive messaging and ripping Paxton for various ethical controversies.

Trump-aligned pollster Tony Fabrizio and Trump 2024 presidential campaign co-manager Chris LaCivita are supporting Cornyn’s reelection bid.

Hunt is expected to start from behind, with polling showing him significantly trailing both Cornyn and Paxton in the race.

A September survey commissioned by the pro-Cornyn group One Nation found 32% of Republican primary voters backing Cornyn, followed by Paxton at 31% support and Hunt, who drew 17% support.

“Senator Cornyn has soared ahead in the latest polling and will win this election,” Cornyn campaign senior adviser Matt Mackowiak said on Monday. “Wesley Hunt is a legend in his own mind. No one is happier this morning than the national Democrats who are watching Wesley continue his quixotic quest for relevancy, costing tens of millions of dollars that will endanger the Trump agenda from being passed.”

Democrats are voicing optimism that a drawn-out GOP primary contest could damage the Republican nominee who advances to the general election.

“This thing is almost definitely going to a runoff, just a matter of which of Cornyn/Paxton/Hunt makes it,” Democratic pollster Adam Carlson wrote on X on Monday. “Either way it’s going to be extremely nasty and expensive. Which is great.”

Paxton’s campaign gave a positive response to Hunt’s entry into the race, a sign that a three-way primary contest could hurt Cornyn’s prospects more than Paxton.

“We welcome Wesley Hunt to the race,” Paxton adviser Nick Maddux said in a Monday statement. “Primaries are good for our party and our voters, and Wesley and General Paxton both know that Texans deserve better than the failed, anti-Trump record of John Cornyn.”

Hunt has also faced scrutiny for missing a significant number of votes in his two terms in the House. The Texas lawmaker was absent for nearly 19% of all House votes between January 2023 and September 2025.