The Republican and Democratic primaries for U.S. Sen. John Cornyn’s seat have broken spending records, topping $122 million before even the general election, a nationwide record for primaries for a single seat.
But even though Republicans run the risk of losing a seat in one of the biggest states in the country, President Donald Trump is staying out of the race.
The president will be in Corpus Christi on Friday, but has not made an endorsement, despite all three Republicans vying for the seat — Cornyn, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt — all being there with him.
AdImpact, which tracks spending on campaign advertisements, showed that the Senate primary in the Lone Star State hit $122 million. And $69 million of that money came from Cornyn and his allies as the four-term incumbent risks losing to the state’s ultra-MAGA AG Paxton.
By comparison, pro-Paxton spending accounts for only $4.1 million. Paxton has become a darling of the MAGA right, partially for his legal challenges to the 2020 election results, his ardent opposition to abortion and his hawkish position on the U.S.-Mexico border.
But Paxton carries significant baggage. In 2023, he was impeached by the Republican-controlled state House of Representatives, though the state Senate decided to acquit him. Last year, his wife, Angela, a state legislator herself, announced she would divorce Paxton “on biblical grounds,” a reference to his alleged affairs.
Cornyn has sought to portray Paxton as a drag on the Republican ticket.
“This is also about trust, and the truth is, Texas can’t trust Ken Paxton,” he said. “He’s lied to his family. He’s lied to Texas taxpayers. He’s lied to his senior staff, the heroic whistleblower who turned him into the FBI for interfering in a federal investigation of one of his campaign donors.”
Paxton for his part has sought to repair his image. One ad features his daughter Mattie and his grandchildren.
But polling consistently shows Paxton leading against both Cornyn and Rep. Wesley Hunt, a two-term congressman who represents Houston. If no primary candidate receives a majority, the race will go into a runoff on May 26.
Many Republicans consider Cornyn to be insufficiently supportive of Trump and expressed anger that after the 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, he negotiated a gun control bill signed by Democrats.
Part of the reason the race has become expensive is it is the first time both parties in Texas have competitive Senate primaries. On the Democratic side, state legislator James Talarico from the Austin area is running against Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a two-two congresswoman from Dallas.
Crockett jumped into the race on the last day possible to file, which led to former congressman Colin Allred to drop out.
But Talarico and outside groups supporting him have significantly outpent Crockett. So far, Talarico and his allies have spent $22.1 million compared to just the $4.6 million spent by Crockett and her allies.
Early voting began last week and so far, Democratic primary participation significantly outpaces Republican participation. According to VoteHub, which tracks elections, as of Thursday, 1,018,125 people voted in the Democratic primary compared to 872,006 in the Republican primary.
Polls in Texas close on Tuesday.
