Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) raised nearly $2.5 million in the first quarter of the year, marking a strong start to what will likely be a contentious reelection bid in 2026.
According to a source familiar with Cornyn’s political operation, the first quarter fundraising total brings the senator’s cash on hand total to $5.7 million.
Cornyn is considered a formidable fundraiser; he's brought in more than $415 million during his time in the Senate. Last year alone he raised nearly $33 million to help Republicans win the majority in the Senate.
The haul comes after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) launched a primary challenge against Cornyn on Wednesday.
“I’m announcing that I’m running for U.S. Senate against John Cornyn, who apparently is running again for his fifth term, which would put him there three decades. It’s definitely time for a change in Texas,” Paxton said while announcing his campaign on Fox News’s “The Ingraham Angle.”
“We have another great U.S. senator, Ted Cruz, and it’s time we have another great senator that will actually stand up and fight for Republican values, fight for the values of the people of Texas, and also support Trump, Donald Trump, in the areas that he’s focused on in a very significant way. And that’s what I plan on doing,” he continued.
Cornyn’s team fired back in a statement calling Paxton “a fraud.”
“Democrats are trying to destroy President Trump, and he and Texas need a battle-tested conservative who knows how to protect his agenda in the Senate and won’t be outsmarted by Chuck Schumer,” a campaign spokesperson for Cornyn told The Hill.
“This will be a spirited campaign and we assure Texans they will have a real choice when this race is over,” the spokesperson for Cornyn said.
Recent polls show that Cornyn, who has held the seat since 2002, could be vulnerable with the state’s Republican base. According to a Texas Public Opinion Research poll released last month, Paxton led Cornyn 38 percent to 27 percent among Republican voters in a hypothetical match-up.
