The Republican establishment is spending big to protect incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who opened the race with a double-digit advantage after announcing his challenge.
A new Senate Leadership Fund (SLF) memo says the gap has tightened to Paxton +8 after a summer advertising blitz from two establishment-aligned groups.
According to the memo, Texans for a Conservative Majority and One Nation combined to drop $7.4 million between July 1–Aug. 21 — $4.3 million and $3.1 million respectively — “altering the narrative of the primary election in just seven weeks.”
The same SLF document lists recent polling: a Texas Southern University survey showing Paxton +5, a Texans for a Conservative Majority poll at Paxton +5, an Emerson snapshot at Cornyn +1, and SLF’s own internal read at Paxton +8.
The memo’s bottom line: with “relatively light spending,” Cornyn improved his position, but Paxton remains viewed as “the conservative” by nearly two-thirds of GOP primary voters, leaving the race competitive and requiring “substantial resources” going forward.
Texas Gun Rights: Cornyn’s Record Is the Issue
Texas Gun Rights (TXGR) has made the U.S. Senate race a top priority and says it will remind every pro-gun Texan of what it calls Cornyn’s “atrocious record” on federal gun legislation.
“Establishment PACs can light billions on fire to prop up John Cornyn, but gun owners haven’t forgotten who wrote Joe Biden’s gun-control deal and helped jam it through. If Senator Cornyn can’t even remember his own record, he should take a cognitive test and let Texans judge his fitness for office.” Chris McNutt, president of Texas Gun Rights said.
The group notes Cornyn’s attempts to blur that history on the trail and, after the senator recently claimed not to recall parts of it, and it is pushing for Cornyn to take a cognitive test to prove he’s fit for office.
TXGR also says it is renewing efforts to collect petitions urging President Trump not to endorse Cornyn, after delivering more than 10,000 petitions to the White House in June.
“We’re not bending the knee to D.C. kingmakers—Texas Gun Rights will keep the heat on and we’re urging President Trump not to endorse Cornyn” McNutt continued.
TXGR frames the establishment ad surge as proof that “RINO PACs” are trying to rescue an incumbent whose standing with grassroots gun owners has slipped—while Paxton, they argue, remains the clearer “no-compromise” option.
Draining the Swamp
SLF’s August 26 memo—circulated to donors and allies—argues Paxton is a riskier general-election nominee and urges more early spending to “reposition Cornyn” ahead of the Dec. 8 filing deadline and Mar. 3 primary.
But that is likely fear mongering from the GOP establishment, who is flooding the race with cash to close the gap for Cornyn, in an effort to protect the status quo.
SLF’s own numbers say it worked—some—but also admit Paxton’s edge with self-described conservatives remains the defining challenge.
For gun voters, TXGR says the contrast isn’t complicated: remember Cornyn’s record, watch who’s funding the air war, and keep the pressure on.
And if pro gun Texans truly want to drain the swamp, it starts with holding anti-gun politicians like John Cornyn accountable.
Will you help Texas Gun Rights keep the spotlight on politicians who betray gun owners?
