Overview

• After months of exploratory ads, the Houston congressman formally joined the 2026 Republican primary, turning the race into a three-candidate contest against Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton.
• Senate Republican leaders and the NRSC, which back Cornyn, had urged Hunt not to run and labeled his prospective campaign a vanity project that could drain funds.
• Ad trackers report Hunt and allied groups have spent more than $6 million statewide, while pro-Cornyn groups have aired over $21 million in ads boosting the incumbent and attacking Paxton.
• Public polling shows Paxton’s early edge narrowing as Cornyn gains; in three-way tests Hunt typically places third and pulls from both, and no candidate has cleared 50% needed to avoid a runoff.
• President Trump has not endorsed in the race, and Hunt’s bid opens his safely Republican Houston-area 38th Congressional District as the March 3 primary approaches with a potential late-May runoff.