Stumping with Sen. John Cornyn in Austin on Tuesday, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry said the political group he chairs, called the Lone Star Freedom Project, would spend “whatever we need” to see Cornyn through his bruising Republican primary, on top of the almost $18 million it has spent on his behalf.
Cornyn, who is serving his fourth term in the U.S. Senate, is battling to keep his seat against challenges from Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt of Houston, in a contest that looks destined to go to a May runoff.
Outside groups, Senate Republican leadership and Cornyn’s own fundraising committees have spent tens of millions of dollars to support the incumbent senator and attack his GOP rivals. The Senate race in Texas became the second-most expensive in the country Tuesday, according to AdImpact, with $98.2 million in total ad spending. Some three-quarters of the cash on the GOP side has come from pro-Cornyn sources — and yet, recent public polling has shown Paxton leading the contest.
