Cornyn Outraises Paxton Fourfold in Key Senate Primary Quarter Senator John Cornyn significantly outpaced Attorney General Ken Paxton in fundraising during the first quarter of 2026, a critical period for the Texas Senate Republican primary and runoff. While Cornyn amassed $9 million, Paxton raised $2.2 million. The Democratic nominee, James Talarico, dramatically outraised both, collecting $27 million. Super PACs supporting the Republican candidates also show a similar disparity. In a significant financial display for the 2026 Texas Senate race, Senator John Cornyn has significantly outraised Attorney General Ken Paxton during the crucial first quarter of the year, a period encompassing the Senate Republican primary and the initial stages of their runoff contest. Cornyn’s campaign, bolstered by his established fundraising network which includes his own committee and two joint fundraising committees with organizations like the National Republican Senatorial Committee, collected approximately $9 million in the first quarter. This substantial haul left him with nearly $8.2 million in cash on hand across all his accounts. Campaign manager Andy Hemming highlighted the impressive performance, stating that over $3.4 million of the first quarter's total was secured in the weeks following the March 3rd primary. He further emphasized the campaign's continued high-level performance, building on the primary results. Cornyn’s fundraising success was evident in the caliber of his donors, who included prominent Texas political and business figures such as former President George W. Bush, operative Karl Rove, and former Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, underscoring significant support from influential circles. Conversely, Ken Paxton raised approximately $2.2 million across his campaign committee and a newly formed joint fundraising committee, reporting over $2.6 million in cash on hand. Paxton’s campaign expressed confidence, with Paxton stating, The people of Texas are ready for change, and the strength of our movement is a testament to that. 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 this assertion, Paxton’s fundraising had shown a declining trend in previous quarters since his campaign launch in April of the previous year. The first quarter’s earnings, however, represented his largest haul since the spring of 2025. During this first quarter, Paxton’s combined spending across his committees amounted to about $3.2 million. Following the March 3rd primary, where the race was exceptionally close with Cornyn securing 42% and Paxton 41%, Paxton evidently intensified his fundraising efforts. This included establishing a joint committee with Lone Star Liberty PAC, a key super PAC backing his candidacy, and forming a leadership PAC to bolster his financial resources for the upcoming runoff. However, both Cornyn and Paxton's fundraising totals were dwarfed by the Democratic nominee, State Representative James Talarico. Talarico achieved a remarkable $27 million in the first quarter, tripling Cornyn's fundraising achievements. With his primary victory secured, Talarico is now positioned to concentrate on further fundraising and amassing a substantial war chest for the general election, while Cornyn and Paxton are compelled to expend their resources in their intra-party battle. In the realm of allied super PACs, the primary pro-Cornyn entity, Texans for a Conservative Majority, demonstrated greater financial strength than Lone Star Liberty PAC, the main organization supporting Paxton. Texans for a Conservative Majority raised approximately $9.5 million in the first quarter, while Lone Star Liberty PAC brought in about $2.1 million. Several significant donors to the pro-Cornyn super PAC increased their contributions after the primary, including Houston businessman John Nau, who added another $1 million, bringing his total for the cycle to $3.9 million. By the final two months of the runoff, Texans for a Conservative Majority maintained a war chest more than double that of its pro-Paxton counterpart, boasting nearly $2.9 million in cash on hand compared to Lone Star Liberty PAC's approximately $1 million. Another entity, Conservative Texans PAC, which played a role in the primary by campaigning against candidate Wesley Hunt and has since supported Cornyn, raised over $5 million in the first quarter and holds about $1.95 million in cash on hand. Notably, all of Conservative Texans PAC's funding originates from Conservative Americans PAC, a nonprofit that does not disclose its donors, adding a layer of opacity to its financial backing. As the runoff intensifies over the next six weeks, spending is anticipated to escalate significantly as Cornyn and Paxton engage in the direct contest they have been preparing for over an extended period. In the primary, Cornyn leveraged his considerable financial advantage and the support of well-resourced allies to overcome an initial polling deficit, a strategy that is likely to continue throughout the runoff.