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A longtime Democratic strategist said the choice between the leading candidates in Texas’ critical U.S. Senate race is "very stark," as Republican infighting continues in the bitter primary contest.
Longtime Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn is facing off against state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Houston-area Rep. Wesley Hunt in the state’s GOP primary race. Whichever candidate emerges victorious will then face either rising Democratic star state Rep. James Talarico or progressive firebrand Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett in November.
Both Texas Senate seats have been red for over three decades. Democrats, however, believe they have a shot at flipping the seat this year, which would be devastating for the GOP’s chances of retaining a majority in the Senate.
Eric Koch, the founder of Downfield Strategies, told Fox News Digital that despite Cornyn being the incumbent, he believes Paxton has the edge in the primary race.
"Ken Paxton clearly has the momentum in this primary because he's the MAGA choice for Senate in Texas," he said.
Koch added that "the contrast in this race is going to be very stark if it's Paxton v. Talarico."
"One is a fresh face who is working on reaching voters from across the political spectrum, while the other is a career politician with a long history of corruption," he said.
Paxton has served as Texas’ top attorney since 2015, with a brief suspension in 2023 during an impeachment process over alleged abuse of power. He was ultimately acquitted of all charges and reinstated. Paxton has called the process a political witch hunt by the GOP establishment.
Cornyn, who has served in the Senate since 2002 and holds several key committee seats, including the Senate Judiciary and Intelligence committees, has the endorsement of major bodies like the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Despite this, he is currently slightly behind Paxton in a recent hypothetical matchup by Emerson College Polling. The poll shows Paxton leading at 27 percent, with Cornyn in close second at 26 percent and Hunt trailing at 16 percent, with 29 percent still undecided.
Though behind in the polls, Hunt, an Army veteran currently serving his second term in Congress, believes he stands the best chance to replace Cornyn and keep the seat red.
Hunt told Fox News Digital that Cornyn’s "time has come to an end, and nearly everyone recognizes that reality, except for him."
Hunt knocked Cornyn for repeatedly turning down debate offers from him, saying, "If Senator Cornyn is truly serious about pursuing a fifth term, which is absurd in its own right, then it is time for him to come out of hiding and defend his record on a debate stage."
In another jab, Hunt said that Cornyn’s "last remaining strategy was to cling to a Trump endorsement," which he said, "is not coming."
"What I am offering is a new generation of leadership. Senator Cornyn, now nearing 74, is offering the same thing Texans have endured for 24 years: establishment politics with very little to show for it," he said.
Matt Mackowiak, senior adviser for the Cornyn campaign, dismissed the jabs, calling the two-term congressman "Woke Wesley," and saying he "isn’t a serious candidate or person, as evidenced by the fact that he can’t even show up to vote this year despite House Republicans having a razor-thin majority."
According to a GovTrack analysis of Hunt’s voting record reviewed by Fox News Digital, he has missed 44 out of 48, over 90 percent, of the House’s votes this January. GovTrack said that over the course of Hunt’s tenure in Congress, he has missed just over 20 percent of roll call votes, significantly higher than the median of 2.0% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving.
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Aiming his fire at Paxton, Mackowiak said, "We look forward to the head to head contest after March 3rd with home-wrecking ethical disaster Ken Paxton, where he will finally be held accountable for his failures, poor judgment and self dealing."
Paxton, meanwhile, called Cornyn "an old man everyone sees shuffling around D.C. and knows is going to be fired soon."
Paxton told Fox News Digital that "the only people happy he's running yet again are the illegals he's fought to give amnesty to, the Democrats trying to destroy the 2nd Amendment, and the members of the Cornyn Crime Family making a fortune by leveraging John's position in the Senate."
On the Democratic side of the aisle, JT Ennis, a spokesperson for the Talarico campaign, also weighed in, telling Fox News Digital that Talarico "helped lead the fight to impeach Ken Paxton" and he "just unveiled a comprehensive anti-corruption agenda outside Ken Paxton's office."
Ennis vowed that "when James is the Democratic nominee, he'll prosecute the case against Paxton's corruption every single day until we defeat him this November."
Crockett's campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
According to Emerson College Polling, Talarico is leading Crockett by a significant margin, 47 to 38 percent, with 15 percent undecided.
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