Rick Perry says his political group will spend “whatever we need” to support John Cornyn in Senate primary
Meeting with Sen. John Cornyn in Austin on Tuesday, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry said the political group he heads, the Lone Star Freedom Project, will spend “everything we need” to make the Republican primary a painful finish, in addition to the nearly $18 million Cornyn has spent on his behalf.
Cornyn, who is serving his fourth term in the U.S. Senate, is fighting to retain his seat in a May runoff against challenges from Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt of Houston.
Outside groups, Senate Republican leadership and Cornyn’s own fundraising committees have spent tens of millions of dollars supporting the incumbent senator and attacking his GOP rivals. The Senate race in Texas was the second most expensive race in the country on Tuesday. accordingly AdImpact, with a total ad spend of $98.2 million. About three-quarters of the cash on the GOP side came from pro-Cornyn sources — but the latest polling showed Paxton leading the contest.
Perry’s group has spent more than all but one of Cornyn’s several outside backers; Those supporters, along with the senator’s campaign, lost nearly $60 million in the race, according to AdImpact. The former governor has made clear that he will proceed to a runoff if Cornyn advances in the March 3 election.
“We are committed to John and will spend whatever it takes to make him successful,” Perry said when asked if he thought fundraising and spending would continue at that level.
Cornyn, who launched a 10-stop tour across the state on the first day of early voting, warned that Republicans would see an “Election Day massacre” in November if he loses the Senate GOP nomination to Paxton.
“Republicans are more or less going to pay the price for hanging an albatross around their necks like the corrupt attorney general,” Cornyn said at a Tex-Mex restaurant with Perry and other supporters, also suggesting that Paxton’s candidacy could threaten the new red congressional seats that Texas Republicans drew last summer to bolster their slim majority in the House. “We haven’t lost a statewide election in Texas since 1994, but we could lose if the wrong person is at the top of the ticket this year.”
The veteran senator argued throughout the campaign that he would keep moderate and undecided voters in the GOP tent, voters who would otherwise be turned away by Paxton’s ethical baggage; It’s a history that includes indictments, impeachments and federal investigations on which the attorney general relies heavily.
Paxton, meanwhile, argues in his campaign that Cornyn is a remnant of the established GOP and ideologically distinct from President Donald Trump and his MAGA movement. The third-term attorney general has long been dogged by a list of legal and ethical problems that have emerged largely unscathed, including accusations of securities fraud and his impeachment by the GOP-controlled Texas House over allegations of bribery and malfeasance. More recently, Paxton’s wife, State Sen. Angela Paxton, filed for divorce on “biblical grounds” after accusing him of cheating on her.
“Character matters in this race, and that’s why the people of Texas overwhelmingly support Ken Paxton. They know he is a conservative warrior who will always fight for us and our freedoms, even against the Left that seeks to destroy him,” Paxton advisor Nick Maddux said in a statement.
Maddux added that Cornyn “is just like any other career politician who talks tough during election season, but then in D.C. he does the exact opposite and betrays Texas by repeatedly pushing for gun control and amnesty.”
Trump declined to endorse in the primary on Monday, telling reporters: “They all supported me, they’re all good, and you’ve got to pick one. So we’ll see what happens, but I support all three.”
In response, Cornyn said Tuesday he would be “proud” to have Trump’s support.
“I appreciate your kind words, referring to me as a friend and calling me a good man,” Cornyn said. “The President knows he can count on me to be there to support him and his agenda, and I appreciate that. But it’s up to him to make that call. I think he likes a good fight, and he’ll see one here in Texas.”
In his speech, Perry praised Cornyn’s work on border security and other conservative causes during his four decades in public office. The two were flanked by representatives of the National Border Patrol Council, which endorsed Cornyn’s re-election.
“The people of the state of Texas know John Cornyn,” Perry said. “They know character matters. They know this guy is going to come back to Washington, D.C., and serve them every day. On the other side, there’s a vanity campaign, and on the other side, there’s a corrupt campaign.”
In a statement, Hunt spokesman James Kyrkanides accused Perry of echoing the speeches of Cornyn’s supporters in the Senate GOP leadership and noted how much pro-Cornyn groups have spent opposing Hunt.
“If Hunt’s candidacy isn’t a threat, why [Perry] Will he spend his own money attacking Wesley?” Kırkanides said: “On March 3, Texans will prove that they are tired of dirty politics and establishment games. They are ready for the new generation of leadership.”
Asked if he believed “character” still matters in Republican primaries, Perry said, “We’re trying to find out. If it’s okay to win with a corrupt candidate, then it’s not the Republican Party I joined in 1989.”
The Senate primary is Perry’s latest attempt at a successful GOP run in his home state, after campaigning for then-Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan in 2024 and helping the Beaumont Republican narrowly defeat his bitter opponent, who was backed by Paxton. Perry also published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal ahead of Paxton’s impeachment trial. implied He said state senators should reject Paxton’s efforts to dismiss the case.
Paxton is also embarking on a voting tour during early voting and is planning up to nine rallies across the state to “engage conservative voters, encourage early voter participation and build statewide momentum,” according to Lone Star Liberty PAC, a group that supports Paxton and is sponsoring the tour.
Texas Rep. James Talarico, who is seeking the Democratic Senate nomination, also launched a “Take Back Texas” tour Tuesday ahead of March 3, featuring 12 rallies across the state in addition to local restaurants and cultural venues.
