Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) said the Senate is “not a retirement community” in a swing at Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) on Thursday.
Hunt, along with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, is running against the incumbent senator in the state’s primary race, with Election Day approaching on March 3rd. Hunt, 44, said he is running against Cornyn because “it’s time for the next generation of leadership to step up,” citing how Cornyn, 74, first became a senator in 2002.
“There’s a reason why our vice president is 41-years-old, our secretary of state’s in his mid-50s, our secretary of war is in our mid-40s, [National Intelligence Director] Tulsi Gabbard is in her mid-40s, because it’s time for that bridge, that upper end of the millennial spectrum to actually get in, and make sure that we have the same values that the older generation passes down to the next generation,” Hunt said on Straight Shooter with Stephen A. Smith.
“At the end of the day, the United States Senate is not a retirement community, and John Cornyn has now spent what will be $100 million in this race to be polling in the 20s, and we are surging!” Hunt said.
Hunt also knocked the “complete and total abomination” of the Republican Party’s leadership, including the National Republican Senatorial Committee, spending money against him “to protect” Cornyn. He added that President Donald Trump hasn’t endorsed Cornyn because “the primary vote in Texas has moved on.”
Stephen A. Smith asked Hunt how he would respond to criticism that he’s seeking “a promotion to the Senate” after missing various House votes. The congressman argued that his initial missed votes stemmed from health troubles his son was experiencing, as well as Trump asking him to serve as a surrogate on the 2024 campaign trail.
Hunt added that he’s only been called twice by either Trump or House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to return to Washington “for a very critical vote, and I was there.” He also said Vice President JD Vance and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) both missed multiple votes ahead of the 2024 election, with the latter initially running for president in this cycle.
“But it’s not about the votes that you missed, it’s about the votes that you take, and John Cornyn has made way too many poor votes, and that’s why he’s in this position,” Hunt continued.
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Polling data released Monday shows Paxton leading this primary race with 36%, ahead of Cornyn by 2% and Hunt by 10%. If no candidate breaches the 50% threshold, a primary runoff election between the top two candidates will be held on May 26.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) and state Rep. James Talarico are pitted against each other in the Democratic Party’s primary. Cornyn has warned that a Paxton victory and the “baggage” the attorney general bears could put the seat at risk, with a Democratic victory in the general election being “the first crack in the red wall.”