Sen. John Cornyn’s campaign says it brought in $7 million in the final quarter of 2025, a personal record, as he faces a crowded Republican primary against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt.
Sen. John Cornyn’s campaign said Monday that the Texas Republican raised $7 million in the fourth quarter of 2025, calling it the largest quarterly fundraising total of his career, as he seeks another term amid a high-profile primary challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt.
Cornyn’s team said the senator has about $15 million in cash on hand when accounting for his campaign account and affiliated joint fundraising committees, though the campaign finance report detailing the full breakdown had not yet been publicly filed at the time of the announcement.
The primary is scheduled for March 3, 2026. If no candidate wins a majority, a runoff is expected on May 26, 2026.
The contest has become a defining intraparty fight, with Paxton running as an insurgent conservative aligned with former President Donald Trump’s base, while Cornyn is backed by much of the party’s Washington establishment and allied outside groups. Public polling in recent months has shown a competitive race among the leading candidates, though results vary by poll and sponsor.
Cornyn and allied groups have also spent heavily to shape the contest, including advertising that highlights Paxton’s legal and political controversies. Paxton has faced years of scrutiny, including a now-closed federal corruption investigation in which the Justice Department ultimately declined to prosecute, as well as a 2023 impeachment trial in the Texas Senate in which he was acquitted.
Paxton has also been navigating personal turmoil. In July 2025, his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, filed for divorce.
Cornyn’s campaign manager, Andy Hemming, framed the race as central to advancing Republican priorities in Washington, saying: “Texans understand that President Trump’s legislative agenda and the Senate Republican majority are at risk unless Sen. Cornyn is the nominee. We are executing our plan to win this race, and we will win.”
Paxton and Hunt had not released their own fourth-quarter fundraising totals at the time Cornyn’s campaign announced its figures, leaving open how quickly his rivals can close the financial gap in an expensive state where television advertising is a major driver of voter outreach.
