Cornyn calls Hunt ‘fake MAGA’ in new ad
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) launched his first significant attack against his latest primary challenger Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) on Thursday, referring to his fellow Lone Star State lawmaker as “fake MAGA.”
The incumbent senator made the attacks in a new microsite and digital ad, backed by a five-figure investment.
“Wesley Hunt says he’s MAGA but the facts tell a different story,” the minute-long spot says, citing Hunt’s 2008 vote for then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and accused the GOP lawmaker of not voting in the 2016 presidential election when Clinton ran against President Trump.
Cornyn also hit Hunt over missing votes during his tenure in the House of Representatives.
“Texans deserve better than fake MAGA Wesley Hunt,” the ad says.
Hunt explained his decision to vote in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary when he ran for Congress in 2020, saying that he was a part of an effort to lengthen the party’s primary to sow chaos among Democrats.
Cornyn’s effort against Hunt comes after the lawmaker jumped into the state’s Republican Senate primary, facing off against Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R). Hunt had previously been flirting with a potential Senate bid, garnering the wrath of Cornyn and his allies in the Republican establishment.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) urged Hunt’s donors to call on him not to run in a memo first obtained by The Hill last month.
The committee referred to Hunt’s flirtation with a potential Senate bid as “a vanity project,” warning his entrance into the GOP primary for the seat could “dilute” the party’s resources and ultimately cost the party control of the upper chamber.
A poll conducted earlier this month by Texas Southern University and the University of Houston found Paxton is leading the field with 34 percent support among likely Republican primary voters, followed by Cornyn at 33 percent.
Hunt trailed at 22 percent and 11 percent said they were unsure, according to the survey.