Wesley Hunt joins crowded Texas GOP Senate primary
Republican Representative Wesley Hunt announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate from Texas on October 6, 2025, entering a contentious GOP primary against incumbent Senator John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton. The move intensifies a race already marked by internal party divisions and significant fundraising. With the 2026 midterm election approaching, Hunt positions himself as a staunch Trump ally in a contest where polls show a tight battle between the top contenders.
On October 6, 2025, Rep. Wesley Hunt, a second-term congressman from the Houston area and a West Point graduate who served as an Apache helicopter pilot in the Army, launched his bid for the Texas U.S. Senate seat. Hunt, a rising MAGA figure in his second term representing a safe Republican district, declared in a statement: "The U.S. Senate race in Texas must be about more than a petty feud between two men who have spent months trading barbs. With my candidacy, this race will finally be about what’s most important — Texas." He emphasized his conservative record, stating, "My record speaks louder than words. I am the most consistently conservative legislator representing Texas in Congress."
Hunt's entry creates a three-way Republican primary for the 2026 election, pitting him against Sen. John Cornyn, who is seeking a fifth term, and state Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Trump ally challenging the incumbent. Cornyn, backed by Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has narrowed a double-digit polling deficit to Paxton from earlier in the summer, aided by ads highlighting Paxton's controversies, including a 2023 impeachment acquittal on charges of corruption and bribery, as well as an ongoing divorce involving adultery allegations.
Recent internal polling from Cornyn's campaign shows a close race: Cornyn at 32%, Paxton at 31%, and Hunt at 17% in a hypothetical matchup. President Donald Trump has not endorsed any candidate yet, though Hunt touts being the first to back Trump's 2024 campaign and serving as a surrogate to appeal to Black voters. Fundraising underscores the stakes; for the quarter ending July 2025, Cornyn raised $3.9 million, Paxton $2.9 million, and Hunt just over $400,000.
The primary is set for March 3, 2026, with a potential runoff in May if no candidate secures a majority. Paxton's adviser Nick Maddux welcomed more competition, saying Paxton and Hunt both offer alternatives to Cornyn's "failed, anti-Trump record." Cornyn's senior adviser Matt Mackowiak dismissed Hunt as a "legend in his own mind," warning his bid could cost Republicans the seat and endanger the Trump agenda. Democrats, eyeing a rare opportunity in the red state—last won by a Democrat in 1988—feature a primary between former Rep. Colin Allred and state Rep. James Talarico, hoping a fractured GOP boosts their chances in the general election.