AG Ken Paxton announces $2.9 million fundraising haul in first 12 weeks of Senate campaign

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Attorney General Ken Paxton raised $2.9 million over the first 12 weeks of his bid for U.S. Senate, his campaign announced Friday.

Paxton revealed the haul ahead of Tuesday’s deadline for federal candidates to disclose their spending and fundraising activities from the start of April through the end of June. It will be the first head-to-head fundraising comparison between Paxton and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn since the attorney general launched his Senate primary challenge on April 8 — about a week into the fundraising period.

Cornyn has yet to release his fundraising numbers for the period, though he will likely start with a financial edge over Paxton, having reported a $5.6 million campaign war chest at the end of March.

The Cornyn-aligned PAC Texans for a Conservative Majority previously announced it had raised $10.9 million last quarter, while the pro-Paxton Lone Star Liberty PAC raised $1.85 million during the same period, according to a person familiar with the finances.

In a statement, Paxton said he has been “incredibly honored and blown away by the support I've received since launching my campaign,” touting the $2.9 million as a show of strength.

“The grassroots movement to fire John Cornyn continues to grow stronger every single day and this is only just the beginning,” he said.

Paxton did not disclose how much money was left in his campaign coffers.

The attorney general previously estimated he would need to raise $20 million to unseat Cornyn. To meet that benchmark, Paxton would need to kick his fundraising efforts into overdrive to collect another $17 million before the March 3 election.

Paxton had $2.8 million in his state campaign account at the end of last year, according to his most recent filing. Federal rules do not allow Paxton to directly transfer the money to his Senate campaign account, though he can refund it to his donors and “coordinate arrangements” to have them donate to his federal account. Individual donors can give up to $3,500 to a federal campaign each election.

The race for U.S. Senate promises to be one of the most contentious primary showdowns in Texas. Paxton is leading Cornyn, who is seeking his fifth six-year term in the Senate, by more than 15 percentage points in multiple polls.

Paxton is positioning himself as an anti-establishment MAGA warrior made in the image of President Donald Trump’s Republican Party. Cornyn is downplaying his old guard party credentials, instead highlighting his ties to Trump and the work he’s done for the president in the Senate.

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