Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) engaged in a sparring match this week over who the true MAGA candidate in the Texas GOP primary is.
An already heated primary between the incumbent Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was joined by Hunt earlier this month. Despite trailing Cornyn significantly, the Senate Republican blasted his new challenger in an ad, accusing him of having no principles.
Texans for Sen. John Cornyn, Inc. created a website devoted to taking down Hunt, featuring the ad at the top of the page.
“Wesley Hunt says he’s MAGA, but the facts tell a different story,” the new minute-long political ad said.
The ad pointed to Hunt’s admitted vote for Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic primary, a move Hunt claimed was intended to prolong the primary and sow chaos among the Democrats.
“In 2008, Wesley Hunt supported Hillary Clinton — long before pretending to be MAGA,” text on the website supporting the ad read. “Real conservatives don’t back the Clinton machine.”
The ad also criticized his voting record, bashing him over missed votes during his House tenure.
“There’s more to come … unlike Wesley Hunt missing House votes, you won’t want to miss this,” the website concluded.
“Texans deserve better than fake MAGA Wesley Hunt,” the ad concluded.
Hunt was quick to respond, bashing Cornyn with the same label.
“It’s ironic being called ‘Fake MAGA’ by a Senator running in the wrong Texas Primary, because his record reads like a registered Democrat,” Hunt said in a statement. “It’s ironic being called ‘Fake MAGA’ by a man who told the press America was ready to move on from President Trump.”
He went on to accuse Cornyn of trying to undermine Trump behind the scenes, pointing to Trump’s own harsh words about him.
“Because when it mattered most, John Cornyn didn’t fight. He folded. He compromised. He surrendered to the Left,” Hunt said.
WESLEY HUNT LAUNCHES TEXAS SENATE CAMPAIGN, CHALLENGING CORNYN AND PAXTON
A recent poll found Cornyn and Paxton evenly matched after Hunt entered the race, with Paxton at 34% and Cornyn at 33%. Hunt trailed with a distant 22%. Cornyn was able to erase Paxton’s massive lead after a scandal involving alleged infidelity and corruption while he was attorney general.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Cornyn for a response.
