In the first quarter of 2026, Senator John Cornyn significantly outperformed Attorney General Ken Paxton in fundraising, raising four times as much during a crucial period that included the Senate Republican primary and the onset of their runoff.
Consistent with previous quarters, Cornyn’s fundraising efforts, which encompassed his campaign committee and two joint fundraising committees affiliated with the National Republican Senatorial Committee, surpassed Paxton’s by a large margin.
According to campaign finance reports, Cornyn raised approximately $9 million and retained nearly $8.2 million in cash across his various accounts. Notably, $3.4 million of this total was secured in the weeks following the March 3 primary.
“The Cornyn campaign continues performing at a high level, building off the overperformance in the March 3rd primary to announcing a massive fundraising haul in the first quarter of 2026,” stated Cornyn campaign manager Andy Hemming.
The senior senator attracted contributions from several prominent Texas figures, including former President George W. Bush, political strategist Karl Rove, and former Texas House Speaker Joe Straus.
In total, Cornyn’s campaign spent over $17 million across its committees during the first quarter.
In contrast, Paxton raised about $2.2 million through his campaign committee and a newly established joint fundraising committee, leaving him with over $2.6 million in cash across both accounts.
“The people of Texas are ready for change, and the strength of our movement is a testament to that,” Paxton asserted. “My campaign will be entering the May runoff in an even stronger financial position than we did in March, and we will continue to highlight John Cornyn’s record of failing Texans.”
Despite a decrease in his fundraising numbers each quarter since launching his campaign last April, Paxton’s recent total represents the largest amount he has raised since spring 2025.
Across his campaign and joint fundraising efforts, Paxton expended approximately $3.2 million in the first quarter.
Following the competitive March 3 primary, where Cornyn edged out Paxton with 42% of the vote compared to Paxton’s 41%, the latter developed a more effective fundraising strategy, which included a joint committee with Lone Star Liberty PAC, the primary super PAC backing him, as well as a leadership PAC.
When comparing fundraising efforts, both Cornyn and Paxton fell short when measured against the Democratic nominee, State Representative James Talarico, who secured an impressive $27 million in the first quarter, triple the amount raised by Cornyn. While the two Republicans will continue to utilize their funds to compete against each other, Talarico, having successfully won his primary, can now focus on fundraising for the general election.
In the realm of supporting super PACs, the pro-Cornyn group, Texans for a Conservative Majority, outperformed Lone Star Liberty PAC, which backs Paxton. The former raised approximately $9.5 million in the first quarter, while the latter garnered around $2.1 million.
Notably, several key donors to the pro-Cornyn super PAC increased their contributions following the primary, including Houston businessman John Nau, who added $1 million to his previous donations, totaling $3.9 million for the cycle.
Furthermore, Texans for a Conservative Majority enters the final two months of the runoff with more than double the available resources compared to Lone Star Liberty PAC, holding nearly $2.9 million in cash against the latter’s roughly $1 million.
Additionally, the Conservative Texans PAC, which campaigned against dark horse candidate Wesley Hunt before the primary and has since supported Cornyn, raised over $5 million in the first quarter and currently possesses about $1.95 million in cash on hand.
All of this funding for Conservative Texans PAC originates from an organization called Conservative Americans PAC, which receives its entire funding from a nonprofit that is not required to disclose its donors.
As the final six weeks of the runoff approach, spending is anticipated to increase, with both Cornyn and Paxton finally facing off in the contest they have been preparing for over a year. During the primary, Cornyn leveraged his financial advantages and influential allies to overcome early polling deficits.
Since last summer, Texans have witnessed over $70 million in pro-Cornyn advertising, while Paxton’s campaign only managed $4.4 million. Both camps have previously invested in advertising to diminish Hunt’s vote share.
With Hunt now out of the race, the runoff has seen a shift towards a barrage of negative advertisements targeting Paxton from the pro-Cornyn super PAC.
As of Tuesday, Texans for a Conservative Majority had spent or reserved $2.85 million in advertising, supported by an additional $545,000 from the Cornyn Lonestar Victory Committee, one of Cornyn’s joint fundraising entities. In contrast, Lone Star Liberty PAC has so far allocated only about $22,000 for advertising during this runoff period.
