Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-Texas) reelection campaign announced on Monday he raised over $3.9 million in the second quarter of the year, surpassing the sum raised by his top primary rival.
The haul includes money raised from Cornyn’s campaign and associated Cornyn Victory Fund. Cornyn enters the third quarter of the year with $8.9 million cash on hand.
Cornyn’s announced fundraising haul comes days after his primary challenger Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced his campaign raised $2.9 million during the same period.
“We are confident that we are on track to have the necessary resources to communicate to Texas GOP primary voters about Senator Cornyn’s conservative record and provide facts about Ken Paxton’s repeated mismanagement of his office, ethical failures and funding of radical left wing groups with taxpayer grants,” said Cornyn’s campaign manager Andy Hemming.
The incumbent senator is facing arguably the toughest fight of his political fight as most polls show Paxton leading Cornyn in the state’s Republican Senate primary, which is slated for early March.
However, the prospect of the current attorney general as the nominee has made many Republicans anxious and Democrats hopeful, with polls showing a narrow general election with Paxton as the hypothetical nominee.
A source told The Hill last week that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-N.D.), who is supporting Cornyn, met with President Trump on Wednesday evening to discuss upcoming Senate races, including the Lone Star State’s.
It’s unclear whether Trump, who is an ally of both Cornyn and Paxton, will endorse in the race.
