Cornyn campaign launches ad buy accusing Paxton of ‘funding the left’

Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-Texas) campaign is rolling out four new ads attacking Texas Attorney General and Senate candidate Ken Paxton (R) for money his office gave to several Texas entities, accusing Paxton of “funding the left.”

The ads, roughly 30 seconds each and shared first with The Hill, criticize Paxton for issuing grant money to Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas, the Tahirih Justice Center, the Montrose Center and Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, insinuating the organizations run counter to Republicans on issues related to immigration and gender.

For example, a narrator in one of the ads accuses the Montrose Center of offering “gender programs for children as young as seven,” noting that it has hosted “child-accessible drag shows.”

The Montrose Center, a group serving the LGBTQ+ Houston community, offers various services, including case management and counseling. The group has previously hosted events that have included drag shows —drawing national scorn and scrutiny from some Republicans.

The ad is also likely referencing the center’s Hatch Youth, which the center describes as “Houston’s oldest, currently active social group dedicated to empowering LGBTQIA+ youth and young adults between the ages of 7 and 24.”

Cornyn’s team told The Hill that the ads are part of a five-figure digital buy.

Cornyn campaign senior adviser Matt Mackowiak alleged the grants had cost millions of taxpayer dollars “approved that went to radical left organizations that do not share our conservative Texas values,” describing Paxton as “crooked” and suggesting “Texans cannot trust Ken Paxton.”

Paxton’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment when contacted by The Hill regarding the ads.

However, Lone Star Liberty PAC, a super PAC supporting Paxton in the Senate GOP primary, accused Cornyn of lying about the funding given to the entities, disputing the Cornyn campaign’s claims in an ad of their own.

A narrator in the 45-second ad said that Cornyn “lied about President Trump,” before playing a clip of reporter paraphrasing Cornyn’s comments, in which he told CBS News he didn’t think Trump could get elected.

“Now Cornyn is lying about Ken Paxton,” the narrator adds. “The truth? As required by law, organizations are reimbursed for costs associated with helping crime victims, including sexual assault survivors. Under Attorney General Ken Paxton’s leadership, grants for immigration claims are banned.”

“Texans and President Trump know who really sold out to the left. John Cornyn is losing. That’s why he’s lying. Texas deserves a senator who will fight illegal immigration, not push for amnesty. It’s time to elect Ken Paxton to the U.S. Senate,” the narrator ends the ad saying.

The different groups mentioned in the Cornyn campaign ads were approved for different types of grants in the past, largely under the “other victim assistance grant,” whose service areas include direct victim services, victim services training, outreach and education, victim assistance coordinator and crime victim liaison.

That hasn’t stopped some of those groups from receiving scrutiny, however. Paxton investigated the Tahirih Justice Center, a recipient of Texas Bar Foundation funding, in 2022 to see “whether these funds are being used to exacerbate the current crisis at the border and to thwart the efforts of federal and state law enforcement to secure the border.”

Republicans are bracing for a bitter primary between Cornyn and Paxton as Cornyn vies for a fifth term in the Senate. Paxton has described Cornyn as a RINO, or a Republican in name only, while Cornyn’s campaign has called Paxton a “fraud.”

The primary is already laying bare divisions within the Texas GOP and could threaten Republicans’ chances of holding the seat. A poll commissioned by the Senate Leadership Fund, released this month, found Paxton leading Cornyn 56 percent to 40 percent.

When Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) is added into the mix, the polling finds 44 percent backing Paxton, 34 percent supporting Cornyn and 19 percent on Hunt’s side. But the polling also showed Cornyn did the best among the three Republicans in a hypothetical match-up against former Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), who could launch a second Senate campaign.

President Trump has notably not weighed in on the Texas Senate GOP primary.

“They’re both friends of mine. They’re both good men. And I don’t know. We don’t know who else is running, but these two — Ken, John — they’re both friends of mine. So I’ll make a determination at the right time,” the president said on Air Force One last month.

Updated at 9:57 a.m. EDT