Rep. Wesley Hunt on Monday announced he’s running for Senate in Texas, heating up a primary between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney general.
“The time is NOW,” Hunt, a two-term congressman, posted on X along with a video. “For Faith. For Family. For Freedom. FOR TEXAS. I’m Wesley Hunt, and I’m running for Senate.”
The time is NOW.
— Wesley Hunt (@WesleyHuntTX) October 6, 2025
For Faith. For Family. For Freedom.
FOR TEXAS.
I’m Wesley Hunt, and I’m running for Senate. pic.twitter.com/DHJPl0wnI8
In an interview with the Associated Press that published Monday, Hunt pointed to polling and said voters in the Lone Star State are eager for another option “and I’m going to give it to them.”
The time is NOW.
— Wesley Hunt (@WesleyHuntTX) October 6, 2025
For Faith. For Family. For Freedom.
FOR TEXAS.
I’m Wesley Hunt, and I’m running for Senate. pic.twitter.com/DHJPl0wnI8
Now a three-way battle for the GOP nomination, some Republican strategists anticipate none of the candidates will garner enough votes to win the March 3 primary outright, likely forcing a runoff in May. Privately, some establishment Republicans worry that Hunt’s entry in the race could boost Paxton. The Senate Leadership Fund urged leaders over the summer to fund Cornyn’s embattled campaign, arguing that Paxton is a “weak candidate who puts the Senate seat at risk in the general election.”
Hunt recently placed a $1.2 million ad buy, according to Ad Impact, for a spot that ran in several Texas markets including Austin, Dallas, Houston, Waco and San Antonio, well beyond the borders of his congressional district. The ad leans into his military service — he flew combat missions as an Apache helicopter pilot in Iraq — and touts his endorsement of Trump’s 2024 presidential bid.
According to internal polling from Cornyn’s campaign, Hunt received 17 percent of the vote in a hypothetical three-way matchup. (Politico)
The National Republican Senatorial Committee released a statement following Hunt's announcement defending Cornyn as the "best candidate to keep Texas in the Republican Senate Majority."
“John Cornyn is a battle-tested conservative who continues to be a leader in delivering President Trump’s agenda in the U.S. Senate," said NRSC Communications Director Joanna Rodriguez in a statement. "Now that Wesley has chosen personal ambition over holding President Trump's House Majority there will be a full vetting of his record. Senator Cornyn's conservative record of accomplishment stands tall against Wesley’s."
