1 of 3 | Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-TX, announced Monday he is running in the GOP Senate primary. File Photo by Tannen Maury/UPI | License Photo
U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt said Monday he will challenge fellow Texas Republican John Cornyn for his Senate seat, adding another layer to what’s expected to be one of the GOP’s most combative intraparty fights.
Hunt, one of the first Black Republicans to represent Texas in Congress, announced his candidacy in a three-minute video posted to X that highlighted his military service, upbringing and interracial marriage.
Cornyn is already trying to fend off what’s been a formidable primary challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has attacked the four-term senator for not being sufficiently loyal to President Donald Trump. Cornyn has responded with a barrage of negative ads against Paxton, accusing him of fraud and questioning his political loyalties.
“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, who has represented his Houston-area district since 2022, said in a statement to the Texas Tribune. “With my candidacy, this race will finally be about what’s most important: Texas.”
Cornyn responded dismissively to having another opponent, reposting an X post by GOP operative Chris LaCivita who wrote that Hunt will “do a good job of splitting up the vote – and increase his name ID for a future run as Land Commissioner.”
Paxton, however, was more receptive to Hunt’s entry.
“We welcome Wesley Hunt to the race,” Paxton adviser Nick Maddux said in a statement to the Houston Chronicle. “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.”
The National Republican Senatorial Committee is supporting Cornyn and criticized Hunt, telling the paper that the Congressman had “chosen personal ambition over holding President Trump’s House Majority.”
Recent polls taken before Hunt declared his candidacy showed a tight race between Cornyn and Paxton. But one endorsement could decisively sway the race. A poll conducted by Texas Southern University found that 41% of likely Republican primary voters would be more likely to back a candidate if endorsed by Trump.
