U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Houston, jumped into Texas’ U.S. Senate race Monday, becoming a wild card in a GOP primary that already includes four-term incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Complicating matters, both Hunt and Paxton are MAGA loyalists who have bent over backwards to present themselves as close pals with President Donald Trump. Meanwhile, Cornyn — despite desperate attempts to align himself with the president — is more often viewed as a member of the party’s chamber-of-commerce old guard.
While Hunt’s move roiled the Republican establishment, it should come as little surprise. Groups affiliated with the second-term congressman and U.S. Army veteran spent roughly $6 million on TV ads meant to raise his profile with Lone Star State voters, according to the Texas Tribune.
In his campaign announcement, Hunt painted the two Republicans already in the race as too caught up in political hit jobs to pay attention to everyday voters.
“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 said. “With my candidacy, this race will finally be about what’s most important: Texas.”
Hunt and his advisors are likely counting on Republican voters looking for a MAGA candidate with less baggage than Paxton, whose political career is marked by multiple scandals, including a high-profile divorce his wife, Texas Sen. Angela Paxton, who announced in July that she was seeking a separation based on “Biblical grounds.”
However, Hunt faces primary rivals with enormous war chests and far better name recognition — factors that appear to have some in the GOP establishment worried about the effect his candidacy could have on the general election.
In comments to the Texas Tribune, the leadership of Republican super PAC the Senate Leadership Fund blasted the former Army captain’s entry into the race as a political miscalculation that would benefit Democrats.
“It’s unfortunate that Wesley Hunt has decided to abandon President Trump’s efforts to protect the House majority and instead pursue his political ambitions, also turning his back on the Texans who entrusted him with their vote,” SLF Communications Director Chris Gustafson said. “With every credible poll showing him in a distant third place, the only person celebrating today is a giddy Chuck Schumer.”
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