Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-TX) campaign is under fire after a top staffer posted Rep. Wesley Hunt’s 2016 provisional ballot on social media, exposing personal details. Hunt announced that he has filed a police report accusing the campaign of “doxxing” his family just days before early voting begins.
The controversy is the latest in a fiery primary race between the three candidates.
Cornyn communications director Matt Mackowiak allegedly posted images of Hunt’s 2016 Harris County provisional ballot on his X account on Friday. He alleged that Hunt lied about his military discharge date and 2016 voting record.
The unredacted document included Hunt’s home address, driver’s license number and the last four digits of his Social Security number. Cornyn’s campaign deleted the post and then reposted the images with redactions of Hunt’s personal information.
Hunt slammed the Cornyn campaign, characterizing the post as dangerous and unlawful. He said sharing his and his family’s information crossed the line between opposition research and doxxing. He filed a criminal complaint with the Harris County Constable’s Office. Law enforcement intends to subpoena X to retrieve the deleted post, according to Fox 26 Houston.
The lawmaker further claimed that his 2016 provisional ballot was never counted and that Cornyn is using it to claim he committed voter fraud.
A spokesperson for the Hunt campaign told Townhall, “In this current climate of political violence, doxxing the home address of a sitting Member of Congress or his family isn’t ‘hardball politics.’ It’s reckless, dangerous, and illegal. It puts lives at risk.”
The spokesperson added, “John Cornyn’s silence on the matter can only mean one thing: he condones it.”
Today, I filed criminal charges with the Harris County Constable’s Office following the public release of private information about my family and me by Senator Cornyn’s Campaign.https://t.co/1BJ6lNBOP1
— Wesley Hunt (@WesleyHuntTX) February 17, 2026
Attorney Dallin Holt defended Mackowiak, telling Townhall that he “posted Congressman Hunt’s publicly available provisional ballot affidavit from 2016 because it directly related to a legitimate news story and important campaign issue” and “Hunt’s declaration that he had been recently discharged from the military when he had in fact been discharged four years earlier.”
Holt further explained that Mackowiak “immediately removed the post, which had been up for only a few hours, and replaced it with a redacted post.”
How dumb. It was public information and you lied. Pathetic attempt at deflection. https://t.co/JdAT7nnKLa
— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) February 18, 2026
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is currently leading in the polls, chimed in on the controversy in a post on X. “I still can't believe that John Cornyn's senior staffer last night doxxed Wesley Hunt's family and posted his social security number on X and then Cornyn defended it,” Paxton wrote. “Why isn't the national media covering this?”
I still can't believe that John Cornyn's senior staffer last night doxxed Wesley Hunt's family and posted his social security number on X and then Cornyn defended it.
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) February 14, 2026
Why isn't the national media covering this? https://t.co/CR19M9biu6
This development comes against the backdrop of a tight Republican Senate primary race. A University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs survey found Paxton in the lead with 38 percent, Cornyn at 31 percent, and Hunt in third at 17 percent.
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