Former President George W. Bush is stepping into Texas’ contentious Senate runoff race by donating $5,000 to Senator John Cornyn’s campaign as the Republican incumbent battles a fierce primary challenge from Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Newly released campaign filings reveal that Bush contributed $5,000 to Cornyn’s reelection effort, with $3,500 allocated for the primary contest and $1,500 designated for the general election—within federal limits for individual donors of up to $3,500 per election.
Paxton’s campaign had not yet filed its first-quarter fundraising report as of Wednesday, missing the Federal Election Commission deadline of 11:59 p.m. on that day for reporting January through March contributions.
The race between Cornyn and Paxton remains tight following their inconclusive performance in the March primary, which necessitated a GOP runoff election. Recent polling indicates a narrow margin, with Paxton at 45% and Cornyn at 43%.
Cornyn’s campaign reported raising $1.7 million during the first quarter and ended the period with nearly $5 million in cash on hand. Including allied political committees, the senator has accumulated nearly $9 million overall and enters the runoff phase with more than $8 million available for spending.
Cornyn’s campaign manager, Andy Hemming, stated: “Our campaign works every day to execute our strategy to win the runoff on May 26. A disastrous nominee like Ken Paxton risks our strong Texas House majority and numerous congressional seats.”
Hemming further added: “Sen. Cornyn is our strongest nominee, he is one of President Trump’s most effective legislative partners, and our voters will fully understand the choice in this runoff election over the next seven weeks.”
Meanwhile, Democrat nominee James Talarico’s campaign announced it raised more than $27 million during the first quarter.
