Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, expects his Democratic opponent to raise large amounts of last-minute campaign cash from confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett.
“I think it’ll probably be a fundraising bonanza for my opponent,” Cornyn told reporters Tuesday outside the hearing room on the second day of the confirmation hearing for Barrett, nominated by President Trump to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
“That’s what they do. They raise money in small dollars online. And, obviously, we’re all very visible here, when people understand the roles we’re playing, so that’s fine,” Cornyn said. “But I think that’s why you’re seeing so much talk about the election and conspiracies and so forth, trying to stoke their base and particularly their donors.”
Cornyn is in a reelection matchup against MJ Hegar, a U.S. Air Force veteran and teacher, who is 8 points behind Cornyn, according to a RealClearPolitics average of recent polls. At the end of the third quarter, Hegar’s campaign announced she raised another $13.5 million. That number is almost 8 times her prior best fundraising quarter. However, she still has less than Cornyn’s $14.5 million war chest.
Cornyn hit back at Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, who claimed GOP members, like the Texas Republican, made it clear that the GOP is rushing Barrett’s nomination because of an unspoken agreement she will favor Trump if the presidential election must be decided at the high court.
“That’s minimum, a triple-bank shot,” Cornyn told the Washington Examiner. “If this happens, and this happens, and this happens, it’s just all a bunch of conspiracy theories.”
