Rep. Wesley Hunt enters Texas GOP Senate primary, challenging Cornyn and Paxton

Oct 6, 2025

Rep. Wesley Hunt has entered the contentious Texas GOP Senate primary, challenging incumbent John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton. Hunt, a MAGA-aligned congressman, frames his run as an alternative to the "blood feud" between his rivals. His entry is opposed by national GOP leadership but welcomed by the Paxton campaign, and it increases the likelihood of a primary runoff as polls show a tight three-way race.

Hunt Senate primary entry

▪Political analysts believe Wesley Hunt's entry into the race increases the likelihood of a primary runoff if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote.
▪Hunt joins a primary field that includes incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, who is seeking a fifth term, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
▪Republican Rep. Wesley Hunt announced on October 6, 2025, that he is running in the Texas U.S. Senate GOP primary.
▪Wesley Hunt stated the Senate race should be about Texas, not a "petty feud" or "blood feud" between John Cornyn and Ken Paxton.

Cornyn-Paxton rivalry intensifies

▪Ken Paxton has attacked John Cornyn over his role in passing a 2022 bipartisan gun safety bill and for past comments questioning Donald Trump's political durability.
▪More recent polling indicates that John Cornyn has narrowed Ken Paxton's lead, tightening the race to a single-digit margin.
▪The Real Clear Politics polling average between May and August showed Ken Paxton at 36.7%, John Cornyn at 32.7%, and Wesley Hunt at 19%.
▪Groups supporting Sen. John Cornyn have spent more than $21 million on television ads this year, according to the ad-tracking service AdImpact.

Trump endorsement competition

▪Ken Paxton was also an early endorser of Donald Trump, while John Cornyn did not endorse him until after Trump won the New Hampshire primary.
▪Wesley Hunt was one of the first Texas Republican members of Congress to endorse Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign.
▪Donald Trump has not endorsed a candidate in the Texas Senate primary but has said he is paying attention to the race.

Paxton legal baggage

▪Senate GOP leaders worry that Ken Paxton's legal and personal issues could make the Senate seat more expensive to defend in a general election.
▪Ken Paxton has faced numerous legal issues, including a 2023 impeachment trial over corruption allegations, though he was ultimately acquitted.
▪In July 2025, Ken Paxton's wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, filed for divorce and accused her husband of adultery.

Establishment opposition to Hunt

▪Senate GOP leaders publicly discouraged Wesley Hunt from entering the race, with some calling his campaign a "vanity project."
▪A Cornyn campaign adviser called Hunt's run a "quixotic quest for relevancy," while the Paxton campaign welcomed Hunt to the race.
▪The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune are backing incumbent John Cornyn.

Hunt congressional career

▪Hunt's decision to run for Senate creates a vacancy in his safe 38th Congressional District, which Donald Trump won by 20 percentage points.
▪Hunt's most significant legislative accomplishment was the Recruit and Retain Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at improving police staffing.
▪Wesley Hunt is a 43-year-old, two-term congressman, a West Point graduate, and a former Army captain who flew Apache helicopters.