Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) is running for the U.S. Senate in Texas, defying Senate GOP leadership and adding a new element to an already contentious primary campaign, the AP reports.
A new Texas Public Opinion Research poll finds Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) leading primary challenger Ken Paxton (R), 35% to 26%.
An additional 29% said they were undecided in the race.
A Public Policy Polling survey in Texas finds Colin Allred (D) leading James Talarico (D) in the Democratic Senate primary, 40% to 32%.
Texas state Rep. James Talarico (D) is set to announce his Senate bid on Tuesday, Politico reports.
“The state legislator has been considered a rising star in Texas, conducting dozens of national media interviews after he and his fellow Democrats left the state to hold up a President Donald Trump-led plan aimed at netting more Republican-leaning seats. He also secured a spot on Joe Rogan’s enormously popular podcast this spring.”
A new Texas Southern University poll finds Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) trails Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) by just five points in the Republican Senate primary, 44% to 39%, an indication he may be winnowing down a huge polling gap.
“Senate Republicans are planning to spend tens of millions of dollars over the next few months to rescue Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn, hoping to reintroduce him to Lone Star State conservatives and save his flagging primary prospects,” Punchbowl News reports.
“The Senate Leadership Fund, the top GOP super PAC focused on Senate races, urged donors last week to open their wallets to help Cornyn beat back a challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, arguing the race could become a costly disaster without immediate intervention.”
“Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton recently found himself roughly 4,500 miles from home as he sought one thing that could give him an edge in his bitter primary fight against GOP Sen. John Cornyn: an endorsement from President Donald Trump,” CNN reports.
“On the last Saturday in July, Paxton was in the Scottish village of Turnberry at the president’s luxury golf resort, where the Texas attorney general encountered his occasional golf partner out on the links of Trump Turnberry.”
“Trump and Paxton did not play a round together on the course in western Scotland that overlooks the Irish Sea, and it’s not clear if the president was expecting to see him there. But the two crossed paths and spoke privately for several minutes about the Texas race.”
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) endorsed Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate.
Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) met with the White House recently about the possibility of jumping into the Texas senate race, Semafor reports.
“Firebrand Texas Republican Ken Paxton’s long record of political resilience in the face of scandal faces a new test after his wife filed for divorce and accused him of adultery, jolting a contentious primary for U.S. Senate,” the Washington Post reports.
“The race, seen as one of the biggest GOP primaries of the midterms, was already dramatic, with a longtime incumbent, John Cornyn, fighting for his political life against Paxton, the state attorney general styling himself as more loyal to President Donald Trump. Now, Cornyn and his allies are bringing up the filing as they run against Paxton, and some Paxton backers are rethinking their support.”
With surveys showing Ken Paxton (R) as the Republican frontrunner for U.S. Senate in Texas, the Cook Political Report shifts its rating for the seat from Solid to Likely Republican.
“Were Paxton to win the primary, we would consider shifting our rating further in Democrats’ direction.”
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who faces a tough GOP primary challenger in Ken Paxton (R), is pleading directly with President Trump for his endorsement, but the president has so far demurred, NBC News reports.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) raised just $803,952 for his re-election committee and has $5.9 million on hand.
Meanwhile, GOP primary challenger Ken Paxton (R) brought in $2.9 million and has $2.5 million on hand.
“The Texas Senate race is turning into the wildest mess of the midterms — and it’s just getting messier,” NOTUS reports.
“The battle between Republican Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for the GOP Senate nomination just continues to get bloodier. Cornyn trails in the primary polls, but is broadly seen as the best Republican to defeat the eventual Democratic nominee.”
“Meanwhile, Paxton’s election vulnerabilities were on full display last week when his wife filed for divorce “on biblical grounds,” a seeming reference to the affair rumors that have swirled around the scandal-plagued Paxton for years.”
“President Donald Trump huddled Wednesday evening in the Oval Office with Senate Majority Leader John Thune and top Senate GOP campaign officials about the 2026 midterm elections,” Punchbowl News reports.
“During the meeting, Trump administration officials made clear to Thune and the Senate Leadership Fund that they were going to let the race between Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton play out a bit before deciding whether and how to engage in the contest. The White House wants to see whether the polling gap between Cornyn and Paxton will close. The primary is scheduled for March.”
Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton (R) has filed for divorce from her husband, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), KUT News reports.
“Ken Paxton is running for U.S. Senate against John Cornyn. The attorney general has long been dogged with allegations of infidelity, including during impeachment proceedings in 2023 that ended in his acquittal. He was accused of securing a job for the woman with whom he was having an alleged affair.”
Politico: “It’s getting late early for John Cornyn. Yet another poll shows the four-term incumbent lagging well behind his hard-right challenger, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, in next year’s primary.”
“The poll, conducted on behalf of a Paxton-allied super PAC, shows the Texas attorney general with a commanding 19-point lead over the incumbent — 57% to 38% — in a head-to-head matchup of Texas Republican primary voters.”
“Terry Virts, a retired NASA astronaut, is not a household name, even in his home of Houston. But the way he announced his campaign on Monday for Senator John Cornyn’s seat in Texas, taking a swing at both political parties, may be blazing a trail for Democratic candidates in 2026,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Virts’ official announcement video was revealing in two ways. It reflected the growing hunger among Democratic outsiders to take on President Trump. And it underscored how such outsiders believe the best way to do that is to also take on the Democratic leaders in Washington.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.