Cornyn's re-election campaign sparks questions on both party flanks as Dems chase 'the ghost of a Blue Texas'

With longtime Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas announcing his re-election this past week, the expensive and potentially competitive 2026 Senate showdown in the nation's second most populous state kicked into gear.

Among the big questions regarding the race – will Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a major ally of President Donald Trump and a MAGA favorite, primary challenge Cornyn?

But also being asked is whether the Democrats will once again dish out tens of millions of dollars in hopes of trying to flip a Senate seat blue in red Texas?

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"I'm looking at it and seriously considering it," former Rep. Colin Allred said last week in an interview with the Dallas Morning News, when asked if he would run a second straight time for the Senate. "This is a time for everybody to realize just what's at stake and how important it is that we all stay involved."

Allred, a former Baylor University football player and NFL linebacker who later represented Texas' 32nd Congressional District (which includes parts of Dallas and surrounding suburbs), was last year's Democratic challenger in the race against conservative firebrand Sen. Ted Cruz. 

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Allred, who said he would decide by this summer if he'll mount a 2026 Senate campaign, was the latest Democrat to spend big bucks to try and oust a sitting Republican in Texas.

He hauled in nearly $93 million and outpaced Cruz in fundraising during the 2024 cycle, although the GOP incumbent brought in slightly more campaign cash overall, thanks to a fundraising head start soon after his 2018 re-election.

Cruz ended up winning re-election last November by roughly nine points, which was much more comfortable than his 3.5 point victory in 2018 over former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, who hauled in $80 million – a staggering amount at the time – and outraised Cruz by a two-to-one margin.

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While the 2018 battle between Cruz and O'Rourke grabbed tons of national attention, it was far from the first time Democrats had spent big bucks on an unsuccessful ballot box effort in Texas.

"The Democrats have been chasing the ghost of a blue Texas since at least 2006, when Tony Sanchez ran for governor against Rick Perry… and all they’ve really done is make a lot of consultants wealthy," Matt Mackowiak, a veteran Republican strategist and communications consultant based in Texas and Washington, D.C., told Fox News Digital.

Mackowiak emphasized that Democrats in Texas "haven’t come close, with the only exception being Beto O’Rourke in 2018."

"Money is not enough for Democrats to turn Texas blue. It is necessary but not sufficient," he argued. "What they have to have is something that they don’t have, which is an electable, mainstream, moderate, pro-business Democrat. That category almost doesn’t exist in Texas."

Asked if the Democrats are pouring money down the drain, Ed Espinoza, a Texas-based communications professional and political analyst who once served at the Democratic National Committee, said, "Every time I was asked that question the past few cycles, I’d say, ‘No, absolutely not.’"

Pausing for a moment, Espinoza then emphasized, "I think 2026 is an important year for Texas Democrats because it’s an opportunity to demonstrate that they’re still in this fight."

"In 2018, we saw strong Democratic gains in Texas. In 2020, we saw those gains hold. There was slippage in 2022 and 2024 and a lot of that was due to redistricting," he argued. "But 2026 is the year that Texas Democrats can and must demonstrate they’re still in this fight."