Wesley Hunt vows political comeback after Texas Senate primary loss

Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, vowed to make a political comeback after losing the Republican primary for a Senate seat in Texas on Tuesday.

Hunt came in third behind incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Hunt opened his speech by thanking God for living in a country where “we the people” choose the leaders.

“We, the people of Texas, have spoken. Unfortunately, that person is not me, but that’s okay. Because I always win because I believe in Christ,” Hunt said. “And I will say this, this won’t be the last time you see my name on a ballot. I can assure you that.”

Hunt went on to say that his time in the House of Representatives and his run for the Senate taught him “valuable lessons,” and he believes the Republican Party needs “young leaders.”

Rep. Wesley Hunt conceded victory in the Republican Senate primary in Texas on Tuesday evening. (Marc Félix/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Hunt concluded his speech by pledging his “undying support” for whoever wins the Republican Primary, but he stopped short of making an endorsement between Cornyn and Paxton.

“So at the end of the day, I wish them well in this runoff, and then whoever chooses – or whoever people choose to run in the general election, will have my undying support on top of that, because we have to keep Texas red,” he said.

The winner of the Republican primary will face state Rep. James Talarico, who is trying to become the first Democrat in nearly four decades to win a Senate election in right-wing Texas.

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Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, left, pictured alongside James Talarico, right. (Mark Felix/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Gabriel V. Cardenas/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

This year’s Senate showdown in Texas is one of a handful across the country that could determine whether Republicans hold their majority in the House in the midterm elections. The GOP currently controls the chamber 53-47.

The Cornyn campaign and aligned super PACs have spent nearly $100 million airing ads attacking Paxton and Hunt, with the senator charging in the final weeks of the primary campaign that Democrats will flip the seat in the general election if Paxton is the GOP nominee.

Cornyn, his allies and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the Senate campaign arm of the GOP, has repeatedly highlighted the numerous scandals and legal troubles that have plagued Paxton over the past decade, as well as his ongoing messy divorce.

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Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas (left) will face Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (right) in a May runoff. (Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images | Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Paxton, a MAGA firebrand who gained national attention by filing lawsuits against the Obama and Biden administrations, rejected Cornyn’s criticism, telling Fox News Digital on the eve of the primary that “I’m 3-0. I’ve won three statewide races.”

Referring to public opinion polls suggesting he has the edge over Cornyn, Paxton argued: “It’s very easy for him to say that when he loses a primary, because he hasn’t lived up to the expectations of the people of Texas, and he’ll find out tomorrow what that means. He’s going to lose in the end.”

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Neither candidate received 50% of the vote in Tuesday’s primary election. They will face each other again in a second round in May.

Paul Steinhauser of Fox News contributed to this report.

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