Campaign Texas lieutenant gov rips Hunt for entering Senate race: ‘He had no business’ by Max Rego - 03/05/26 6:59 PM ET by Max Rego - 03/05/26 6:59 PM ET Share ✕ LinkedIn LinkedIn Email Email NOW PLAYING Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) on Thursday slammed Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) for entering the GOP Senate primary in the Lone Star State. “Wesley Hunt should have never gotten in this race,” Patrick said on “ The Mark Davis Show .” Hunt came in a distant third in Tuesday’s primary, garnering 13.5 percent of the vote. Incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) advanced to a May 26 runoff , as both received less than 50 percent support.  Texas state Rep. James Talarico, meanwhile, won the Democratic primary over Rep. Jasmine Crockett (Texas). Crockett backed Talarico on Wednesday, writing on the social platform X that “Texas is primed to turn blue and we must remain united” after an expensive primary. Patrick, who cruised to victory in his own primary on Tuesday, said the GOP “wouldn’t be in this situation” if Hunt hadn’t jumped into the race in October.  “He had no business getting in the race,” the lieutenant governor remarked. “He got in late, he had no pathway to win, he didn’t have enough money to compete.” The lieutenant governor predicted that the runoff between Cornyn and Paxton will cost their campaigns roughly $50 million combined “or more,” money that Republicans could spend on other races around the country. “Wesley [is a] good friend, but I scratch my head, why he got in that race,” Patrick added. While President Trump did not endorse one of the three leading Republicans in the contest, he said Wednesday he would back either Cornyn or Paxton “soon” and that the candidate he does not support should drop out “immediately.” Senate GOP leaders, meanwhile, are urging Trump to back the incumbent . But Paxton told Real America’s Voice on Wednesday that he will not drop out if Trump endorses Cornyn, comments that the president criticized Thursday . “Well, that’s bad for him to say,” Trump told Politico . “That is bad for him. So maybe, maybe that leads me to go the other direction.” Add as preferred source on Google Tags Dan Patrick Jasmine Crockett John Cornyn Ken Paxton Wesley Hunt Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Share ✕ LinkedIn LinkedIn Email Email More Campaign News See All House Bice, Hern considering Senate runs to replace Mullin by Emily Brooks 5 hours ago House  /  5 hours ago