Imagine running for higher office, only to have your own party tell you that it’s selfish and that they don’t want you as a colleague. That’s basically what happened to GOP Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas.
On Monday, Hunt announced that he’s jumping into the already crowded GOP Senate primary, taking on both Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton.
“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 said in a statement announcing his bid. “With my candidacy, this race will finally be about what’s most important: Texas.”
In an interview with The Associated Press, Hunt added that polling shows that “people want an alternative, and I’m going to give it to them.”
But the numbers don’t really back that up. Cornyn has clawed back what was once a massive polling gap with Paxton, and Hunt’s entry could make things even messier.
“The time is NOW,” Hunt wrote on X, alongside a campaign video heavy on testimonials from his wife, brother, and military colleagues—plus footage of him with President Donald Trump. Neither Cornyn nor Paxton was mentioned.
Hunt, a close Trump ally, has been laying the groundwork to join the Senate race for months. While he’s mostly stayed out of the Cornyn-Paxton fight in public, he and groups tied to him have poured more than $6 million into ads boosting his profile statewide. And his allies say that he’s a better match for the MAGA base than Cornyn—without all of Paxton’s legal baggage.
His entry upends what’s already one of the most volatile Senate primaries of 2026—and it could all but guarantee a runoff.
But not everyone’s thrilled.
GOP leaders have made it clear that they’d rather Hunt stay in the House. Top Republicans—including those on the National Republican Senatorial Committee—have warned that his campaign would be a “vanity project” that wastes money and risks the party’s Senate majority.
“This is not a vanity project. This is about giving the people of Texas a viable alternative,” Hunt told the AP. “Let’s stop the exercise in futility and get the right person for the job.”
Still, the NRSC doubled down on Monday, openly 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 said. “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 safety bill in 2022 and questioned Trump’s staying power in 2024. But Paxton has hammered him for it, framing Cornyn as out of touch with Texas conservatives.
Both have been chasing Trump’s endorsement—something that Hunt will now also have to compete for. The president hasn’t yet made his pick.
A 43-year-old former Army captain, Hunt will also have to introduce himself to voters outside of his Houston-area district to overcome Cornyn’s and Paxton’s statewide name recognition. And he’s up against serious money: Cornyn’s operation pulled in $3.9 million last quarter, while Paxton raised $2.9 million. Hunt, however, brought in just over $400,000.
According to The Texas Tribune, Cornyn allies have already spent roughly $19 million on ads, most of which tout his pro-Trump voting record and attack Paxton’s scandals—including the revelation that Paxton improperly claimed multiple homes as his primary residence to obtain better mortgage rates.
Meanwhile, Paxton hasn’t yet spent big on ads, but his personal drama looms large, having survived both an impeachment effort and a federal corruption probe. His wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, recently filed for divorce and accused him of adultery—deepening concerns about his electability.
Recent polling shows Cornyn narrowing Paxton’s lead, with Hunt polling third in a three-way race but pulling votes from both rivals. In a one-on-one matchup, internal polling shared with Punchbowl News showed Hunt performing better—likely enough to force a runoff if he finishes second in March.
Hunt’s decision to run also opens his solidly Republican 38th Congressional District, which backed Trump by 20 points in 2024. Between retirements and Texas’ new GOP-tilted districts, that’s at least seven open seats that could be up for grabs—ensuring pricey and chaotic primaries across the state.
On the Democratic side, the primary is also heating up. Former Rep. Colin Allred, who narrowly lost to Sen. Ted Cruz in 2024, faces state Rep. James Talarico, a rising progressive star known for fighting Texas’ mid-decade redistricting.
Senate GOP leadership remains firmly behind Cornyn, with a top Super PAC already spending more than $8 million to protect him. But for now, the biggest question is whether Trump will step in or stay out long enough to let his allies tear each other apart.
Get your popcorn ready. Texas Republicans are in for one brutal brawl.
