'Not what it appears': Scorned Republican senator reveals GOP money woes

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) threw cold water on a hot notion in Republican circles — namely, that they can offset their many disadvantages going into the 2026 midterms with their fundraising edge.

"[Republican] money advantage not what it appears to be on surface," Cornyn posted on X on Monday. Earlier he had posted an article by PoliticalWire which argued, “New data from AdImpact shows that, across nine of the most competitive Senate contests, Republicans had spent $563 million on advertising through the end of September versus $375 million for Democrats — a gap of 60 percent to 40 percent in favor of the GOP. But in terms of the actual number of ads aired, the difference is much smaller. In total, Republican ads have run roughly 290,000 times, while the Democrats’ have appeared approximately 250,000 times. That’s a much smaller difference of 54 percent to 46 percent.”

The article added, “Why hasn’t the GOP spending spree translated into a comparable advertising edge? Because Republicans have heavily relied on third-party groups like super PACs, which have to pay prevailing market rates for ads. Candidates, by contrast, are entitled by law to the lowest rates that broadcasters offer.”

Cornyn may have a personal reason for taking this stance. During his primary for the Republican Senate nomination, Cornyn lost in an upset to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton after President Donald Trump unexpectedly endorsed the latter. Even though Cornyn had voted with Trump on almost every major issue, Paxton was viewed as more loyal due to his far right views. Many of Cornyn's fellow Republicans were disappointed by Trump's actions.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said the endorsement “puts that seat in jeopardy” and asked, “How does that help strengthen the president’s hand when we lose a state like Texas?” She later added she was "supremely disappointed."

Similarly Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) described Paxton as “an ethically challenged individual,” continuing that “John Cornyn is an outstanding senator and deserved, in my judgment, the president’s support. Obviously, it’s the president’s call, but I’m disappointed that he did it.”

By contrast the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) argued, “I think Paxton can win. I think it’d be three times more expensive.”

Since losing his primary to Paxton, Cornyn has in some ways acted with more political freedom than might have been the case if he was up for reelection. In September, for example, he implicitly endorsed Democrat Jon Rosenthal in his race for the Texas Railroad Commission after Republican nominee Bo French made a racist comment about the ethnic composition of a crowd of college football fans at a University of Texas game.