Senate Republican's attack on GOP rival immediately backfires

The campaign communications chief for Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) launched an explosive allegation that primary rival Rep. Wesley Hunt illegally voted in 2016, and the post may have landed the Cornyn campaign in hot water.

The allegation, brought by staffer Matt Mackowiak, was that Hunt lied to election officials in a sworn statement on a provisional ballot in 2016 about the date of his discharge from military service, so that he could cast a vote in an election he was not registered for.

“Wesley Hunt has now unwittingly proved he committed voter fraud by lying in a sworn statement to an Election Judge both verbally and on a sworn document,” wrote Mackowiak. “His military discharge form, and his official biography prove he was discharged in 2012, not in 2016 as he claimed in an attempt to illegally vote. Corrupt [Attorney General] Ken Paxton should investigate Wesley Hunt for voter fraud and Wesley should admit he lied in a sworn document.”

In his post, Mackowiak included voter forms that did not redact Hunt's home address — prompting both Hunt and Paxton, who is also running in the Senate primary, to accuse him of criminal wrongdoing.

"According to Team Cornyn, voting for President Trump is now a 'crime,'" wrote Hunt in a post to X. "Meanwhile, they’re committing a real one, doxxing the family of a sitting Member of Congress. We are pursuing every legal remedy available, and we will hold them fully accountable."

"The first thing that needs to be investigated is why a staffer for John Cornyn is publicly listing the address of a member of Congress and/or his family," wrote Paxton. I've seen a lot of pathetic campaigning out of the Cornyn camp, but this reaches an all-time low.

As of Friday evening, Mackowiak appears to have deleted the original post revealing Hunt's confidential information.

Recent polls have shown a dynamic race for the Republican nomination, with Paxton generally leading Cornyn by varying amounts, and Hunt placing third behind both of them but competitive against either if he advances to the runoff.