Campaign scoop: Rep. Wesley Hunt, a recent entrant into Texas’ Senate GOP primary, is sending a fiery memo to donors, urging them not to support incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas).
This memo is from Hunt’s campaign, so of course, this is their posture. But Hunt’s team lays out some interesting points and some of their own internal numbers that are worth noting.
– Hunt’s big takeaway: The massive onslaught of TV spending for Cornyn has dragged down Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, but hasn’t substantially improved Cornyn’s numbers in a three-way contest, where he remains in the high 20s to low 30s in recent public and private polling.
– Hunt disclosed previously unreleased polling from early October of 725 likely voters that showed him leading both candidates in runoffs. Hunt led Cornyn 48% to 37% and Hunt led Paxton 43% to 40%, according to this survey. But Hunt has to get to second place in the three-way to make the runoff and most recent polling shows him in third.
– One more notable stat: Cornyn’s re-elect number is tough. Just 20% said they would vote for him and 62% said they want someone else. And this is before Cornyn has seen significant negative advertising against him.
Crypto news: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) will try this evening to pass a resolution condemning President Donald Trump’s decision to pardon Changpeng Zhao, co-founder and former CEO of Binance. Zhao pled guilty in 2023 to allowing billions in illicit funds to be laundered through his crypto exchange.
In a “Dear Colleague” letter that Warren will distribute this morning, Warren says Zhao’s pardon “followed months of an increasingly intertwined business relationship between Zhao and the Trump family.” The arrangement has created some queasiness among Republicans, too.
Ad news. VoteVets is partnering with “Yes on 50” to run an ad buy in support of the California redistricting ballot measure. The spot, airing on streaming services and backed by an initial $150,000 investment, features two veterans discussing the need to stand up to Trump.
The American Prosperity Alliance is running a new ad in Philadelphia, urging voters to call Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) to thank him for passing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Watch the spot here.
