Cornyn amasses $9M for ’20 race
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has more than $9 million to fend off a Democratic challenger in a race that is already drawing national attention — and money — but has yet to really take shape.
Cornyn’s campaign said Monday it raked in $2.5 million in the second quarter of the year as it warned of the “dire need to Keep Texas Red.” More than 80 percent of those gifts came from donors in Texas, the campaign said, and two-thirds were first-time donors. Democrats are already lining up to challenge Cornyn, and even more could jump into the race as the party tries to flip the Senate seat Cornyn has held since 2002. They hope to ride momentum from the 2018 elections that saw the state’s closest Senate race in recent history as Beto O’Rourke come within three percentage points of beating U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.
Cornyn’s campaign in recent weeks has sent out desperate
pleas for cash, warning that Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi and “Hollywood elites” are pouring money into the race to turn Texas blue and urging supporters to “show the Democrats what they’re up against.”
“I am very encouraged by this strong second quarter of 2019,” John Jackson, Cornyn’s campaign manager, said in a statement. “But we are not stopping. It is likely the Democrats will spend more than $50 million against us next year, and that means a lot of attacks to fend off.”
The 2018 race set records, with O’Rourke raking in more than $80 million — including $38 million in just three months from the start of July to the end of September. Cruz’s campaign, meanwhile, raised more than $45 million.
The money is already flowing for the 2020 battle. Air Force veteran M.J. Hegar raised more than $1 million in the second quarter — her first reported haul after announcing her run in April.
Hegar’s campaign Monday touted gifts from more than 10,000 donors, the vast majority of whom gave less than $100 each.
The average online donor gave Hegar’s campaign just $28, and the campaign bragged it hasn’t taken any money from corporate PACs. The Round Rock Democrat has nearly $600,000 cash on hand, the campaign said.
Hegar is almost certain to face a crowded field. Chris Bell, the former Houston congressman and gubernatorial candidate, has said he plans to run. State Sen. Royce West is also expected to announce his candidacy, and Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards has said she’s also considering a run.
Beaumont NAACP chair Michael Cooper and Sema Hernandez, who was the runner-up to Beto O’Rourke in the 2018 primary to challenge Cruz, are also running.
There have been calls, as well, for O’Rourke to ditch his sputtering presidential campaign and join the senate race — something a recent poll found most Texas Democrats would prefer.