Texas Rep. Wesley Hunt jumps into GOP Senate primary
by Julia Manchester - 10/06/25 7:59 AM ET
Texas Rep. Wesley Hunt (R ) said in an interview published on Monday that he is running for Senate in the Lone Star State, joining an already contentious primary between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R).
Hunt told The Associated Press on Sunday that he believes Texas voters want an alternative, based on polling he has seen.
“I’m going to give it to them,” Hunt told the news service.
Hunt has been openly flirting with the possibility of running for Senate for months, rolling out a number of statewide ads.
He has placed $1.2 million in ad spending and reservations this year, according to the ad-tracking company AdImpact.
Hunt also spoke to the White House earlier this year about a potential bid, and President Trump told reporters last week that he remains undecided between Paxton and Cornyn.
Cornyn’s campaign responded to news of Hunt’s entrance into the primary, calling him “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,” Matt Mackowiak, Cornyn campaign senior adviser, said in a statement.
Trump has yet to endorse in the primary, but Senate Republican leadership, which is supporting Cornyn, urged Hunt not to launch a bid for the upper chamber.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) urged Hunt’s donors to call on him not to run in a memo first obtained by The Hill last month.
The committee referred to Hunt’s flirtation with a potential Senate bid in the Lone Star State as “a vanity project,” warning his entrance into the GOP primary for the seat could “dilute” the party’s resources and ultimately cost the party control of the upper chamber.
more
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5540296-texas-rep-wesley-hunt-senate/
