Paxton, Cornyn head to Texas GOP race after Wesley Hunt finishes third

AUSTIN, TEXAS – The expensive and contested race for the Republican Senate nomination in Texas is headed for a May runoff, after none of the three front-runners in a crowded field received 50% of the vote in Tuesday’s election.

Longtime Sen. John Cornyn will face Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton after the top two finishers in the primary, Rep. Wesley Hunt is in third place, the Associated Press reports.

The winner will face Rep. James Talarcio of the emerging state or progressive Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a vocal critic and foil of President Donald Trump, who was running for the Democratic Senate nomination. Both are trying to become the first Democrat in nearly four decades to win a Senate election in right-leaning Texas.

This year’s Senate race in Texas is one of a handful across the country that could determine whether Republicans hold a majority in the chamber in the midterm elections. The GOP currently controls the chamber 53-47.

The Cornyn campaign and affiliated super PACs spent nearly $100 million on ads attacking Paxton and Hunt, with the congressman charging in the closing weeks of the primary campaign that Democrats would flip the seat in the general election if Paxton was the GOP nominee.

Cornyn, his allies, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, repeatedly point to the slew of scandals and legal problems that have plagued Paxton over the past decade, as well as his ongoing divorce.

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“If I am the nominee, I will help President Trump by making sure we carry five congressional seats and keep this Senate seat and I will help him continue his agenda in the last two years of his term,” Cornyn said in an interview with Fox News Digital on Sunday.

And, he argued, “If the Democrats win, because we nominate a flawed and incredibly responsible candidate for attorney general, that means the last two years [Trump’s] The agenda is at stake, along with every downvoted person we need to continue to elect as Republicans. “

Speaking to reporters on the first night, Cornyn emphasized, “Over the next 12 weeks, Texas Republican primary voters will hear more about my record of delivering a landslide victory in the United States Senate, and learn more about Ken’s indefensible behavior and failures at work.”

“As a primary, we have a plan to win the race, and we are in the process of executing it. Judgment day is coming for Ken Paxton,” Cornyn vowed.

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Paxton, a MAGA firebrand who has garnered national attention for filing lawsuits against the Obama and Biden administrations, backed off, telling Fox News Digital on the eve of the primary that “I’m 3-0. I’ve won three statewide races.”

Pointing to public opinion polls that suggest he has the edge over Cornyn, Paxton argued, “it’s really easy for him if he loses in the primary, because he’s not brought by the people of Texas, and you’ll see tomorrow what that means. He’s going to lose.”

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican Senate candidate, speaks to supporters at a campaign event on the eve of the primary, in Waco, Texas, March 2, 2026. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

“This idea that I’m not going to win the race is not true… there’s no evidence that what he’s saying is true. In fact, the evidence is just the opposite,” Paxton said.

Paxton was boosted in the past few weeks by an endorsement from the political wing of Turning Point USA, the powerful grassroots organization longtime leader of Charlie Kirk.

The battle for the GOP nomination was a two-person race until Hunt, a West Point graduate and Army veteran who flew helicopters during his service and represents a staunchly red district in suburban Houston, announced his candidacy last fall.

“I think there will be a repeat, no matter what,” Cornyn predicted Sunday.

Paxton, speaking to supporters on the eve of the primary, said “the more we go to the race, the better the chances are for me,” as he pointed to the likely turnout for the May 26 election.

Republican Senate Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas, at a pre-primary campaign event, in Houston, Texas on March 2, 2026 (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

Hunt, in an interview with Fox News Digital on the eve of the primary, argued that he is “the best person to win the primary and win the general.”

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And pointing to negative ads from Cornyn and his supporters that have been targeting him in the past few weeks, Hunt said, “They’ve spent tens of millions of dollars against me in the state of Texas, which means I must be doing the right thing, and I must be a threat. DC will not decide who will be the next senator in Texas. Texans will and that’s why I got into this race.”

Hunt fell well short of his goal.

But in his acceptance speech, Hunt quipped, “This won’t be the last time you see my name on the ballot. I assure you. We’ve learned important lessons, we’ve had important experiences.”

Trump, whose influence over the GOP remains huge, has remained neutral in the Republican primary race. All three candidates, who are seeking the president’s endorsement, were in attendance Friday as Trump hosted the event Corpus Christi, Texas.

“They’re in a little race together,” Trump said of Cornyn and Paxton. “You know that, right? It’s a little race. It’s going to be fun, right? They’re both great people, too.”

Trump also praised Hunt, saying that all three candidates had participated in “interesting elections.”

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, at a Whataburger restaurant in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Feb. 27, 2026. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

While Trump was neutral, his chief investigator, Tony Fabrizio, helped Cornyn’s campaign. And veteran Republican strategist Chris LaCivita, who served as co-campaign manager for Trump’s 2024 White House bid, consulted with a top PAC aligned with Cornyn.

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The big questions going forward as the runoff campaign begins are whether Trump will concede, and whether major outside groups supporting Cornyn will continue to throw resources into the extended nomination battle.

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