{"id":2574035,"date":"2026-02-26T15:36:01","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T20:36:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wesley-hunt-says-its-time-for-the-next-generation-in-senate\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T15:39:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T20:39:00","slug":"wesley-hunt-says-its-time-for-the-next-generation-in-senate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wesley-hunt-says-its-time-for-the-next-generation-in-senate\/","title":{"rendered":"Wesley Hunt says &#8216;it&#8217;s time for the next generation&#8217; in Senate"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwesley-hunt-says-its-time-for-the-next-generation-in-senate%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2574035&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Texas Rep. Wesley Hunt, 44, has launched a Republican primary challenge to incumbent Sen. John Cornyn,arguing that the Senate needs \u201cthe next generation\u201d of leadership. Running with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton against Cornyn,Hunt says Cornyn\u2019s long tenure\u2014having first become a senator in 2002\u2014should give way to younger leadership as Election Day approaches on March 3. He criticizes Cornyn\u2019s fundraising, claiming the incumbent will spend nearly $100 million while polling in the low 20s, and says Hunt and Paxton are surging. Hunt also attacks GOP leadership, including the NRSC, for spending against him to protect Cornyn, and suggests Trump hasn\u2019t endorsed Cornyn because Texas voters are moving on. In defense of his record, Hunt notes needed personal reasons for missed House votes and insists the Senate is not a retirement community, highlighting that other national leaders are younger. Polls cited in the piece place Paxton at about 36%, with Cornyn around the mid-30s and Hunt in the high 20s, meaning no candidate may hit 50% and a runoff could occur on May 26. The article also mentions Democrats Jasmine Crockett and James Talarico in their own primary, with Cornyn warning that a Paxton victory could jeopardize the GOP seat in a year that could reshape congressional balance.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Wesley Hunt says &lsquo;it&rsquo;s time for the next generation&rsquo; in Senate race against Cornyn<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2515988\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/restoring-america\/4468326\/texas-senate-republican-primary-wesley-hunt\/\">Wesley Hunt<\/a> (R-TX) said the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/senate\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/senate\/\">Senate<\/a> is &ldquo;not a retirement community&rdquo; in a swing at Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/john-cornyn\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"965\">John Cornyn<\/a> (R-TX) on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>Hunt, along with Texas Attorney General <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4460008\/ken-paxton-frames-john-cornyn-establishment-candidate-first-rally-early-voting\/\">Ken Paxton<\/a>, is running against the incumbent senator in the state&rsquo;s primary race, with <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2026-election\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"11675\">Election Day<\/a> approaching on March 3rd. Hunt, 44, said he is running against Cornyn because &ldquo;it&rsquo;s time for the next generation of leadership to step up,&rdquo; citing how Cornyn, 74, first became a senator in 2002.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4472881\/virginia-congressional-democrats-back-redistricting\/\">Virginia&#8217;s congressional Democrats back redistricting plan<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/4472791\/republicans-roll-out-first-ad-democrats-not-standing-state-of-the-union\/\">Republicans roll out first ad pinning Democrats for not standing during State of the Union<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4472189\/gop-campaign-use-dems-seated-state-of-the-union\/\">GOP to campaign on Democrats picking illegal immigrants over Americans at State of the Union<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a reason why our vice president is 41-years-old, our secretary of state&rsquo;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&rsquo;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,&rdquo; Hunt said on <em>Straight Shooter with Stephen A. Smith<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>    <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Y3Q-8Se0KCU?si=oddiirSdj3X3hxwj&amp;start=1374\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>    <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;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!&rdquo; Hunt said.<\/p>\n<p>Hunt also knocked the &ldquo;complete and total abomination&rdquo; of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/4472791\/republicans-roll-out-first-ad-democrats-not-standing-state-of-the-union\/\">Republican Party&rsquo;s<\/a> leadership, including the National Republican Senatorial Committee, spending money against him &ldquo;to protect&rdquo; Cornyn. He added that President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"4\">Donald Trump<\/a> hasn&rsquo;t endorsed Cornyn because &ldquo;the primary vote in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/texas\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"253\">Texas<\/a> has moved on.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/stephen-a-smith\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"10345\">Stephen A. Smith<\/a> asked Hunt how he would respond to criticism that he&rsquo;s seeking &ldquo;a promotion to the Senate&rdquo; after missing various House votes. The congressman argued that his <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >initial missed votes stemmed<\/a> from health troubles his son was experiencing, as well as Trump asking him to serve as a surrogate on the 2024 campaign trail.<\/p>\n<p>Hunt added that he&rsquo;s only been called twice by either Trump or House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to return to Washington &ldquo;for a very critical vote, and I was there.&rdquo; He also said Vice President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/4473089\/newsom-vance-rubio-phonies-switching-trump-critics-allies\/\">JD Vance<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;But it&rsquo;s not about the votes that you missed, it&rsquo;s about the votes that you take, and John Cornyn has made way too many poor votes, and that&rsquo;s why he&rsquo;s in this position,&rdquo; Hunt continued.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4468422\/2026-midterm-election-races-competitive\/\"><strong>HERE ARE SOME OF THE MOST PIVOTAL RACES IN THE 2026 MIDTERM ELECTIONS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Polling data released Monday shows <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/texaspolitics.utexas.edu\/blog\/competition-remains-fierce-in-both-u-s-senate-primaries-in-texas-according-to-latest-ut-texas-politics-project-poll-2\">Paxton leading this primary race with 36%<\/a>, ahead of Cornyn by 2% and Hunt by 10%. If no candidate breaches the 50% threshold, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-border-constable-pleads-guilty-to-prostitution-enticement-charge\/\" title=\"Texas Border Constable Pleads Guilty to Prostitution Enticement Charge\">primary runoff election<\/a> between the top two candidates will be held <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sos.state.tx.us\/elections\/voter\/important-election-dates.shtml\">on May 26<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/beltway-confidential\/4473377\/gop-failures-could-get-jasmine-crockett-elected-senate\/\">Jasmine Crockett<\/a> (D-TX) and state Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4465386\/james-talarico-jasmine-crockett-texas-senate-election-primary\/\">James Talarico<\/a> are pitted against each other in the Democratic Party&rsquo;s primary. Cornyn has warned that a Paxton victory and the &ldquo;baggage&rdquo; the attorney general bears <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4471768\/john-cornyn-warns-texas-primary-runoff-ken-paxton-jeopardize-gop-seat\/\">could put the seat at risk<\/a>, with a Democratic victory in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/impossible-gop-picked-up-seats-in-house-picked-up-state-legislatures-picked-up-governorship-held-the-senate-but-sniffy-joe-won-not-a-chance\/\" title=\"IMPOSSIBLE: GOP Picked Up Seats in House, Picked Up State Legislatures, Picked Up Governorship, Held the ... -- But Sniffy Joe Won?... NOT A CHANCE\">general election<\/a> being &ldquo;the first crack in the red wall.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hunt: new generation needed in TX Senate race vs Cornyn<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2632,"featured_media":2574036,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-collage-9ap5563ya-1772133419871-e1772136801389.jpg?1772118796&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[6203,38418,3740,32971],"class_list":["post-2574035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-gop","tag-next-generation","tag-senate","tag-wesley-hunt"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-collage-9ap5563ya-1772133419871-e1772136801389.jpg?1772118796&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2574035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2632"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2574035"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2574035\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2574039,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2574035\/revisions\/2574039"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2574036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2574035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2574035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2574035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}