Texas congressional candidate launches PAC to boost other GOP candidates

Texas congressional candidate Wesley Hunt is launching his own PAC aiming to elect fellow Republicans to the House in November.

Details about the committee, known as Hellfire PAC, were first reported by The Hill on Monday.

Hunt’s campaign told The Hill he will cut checks to 16 House Republican candidates in March and is endorsing a number of candidates, including John James in Michigan’s 10th Congressional District, Jeremy Hunt in Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District and Cassy Garcia in Texas’s 28th Congressional District.

Additionally, Wesley Hunt will travel to Washington this week to meet with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and support the National Republican Congressional Committee’s “Young Guns” program.

The name Hellfire PAC originates from the hellfire helicopter, an ode to Hunt’s military background. Hunt is an Iraq War veteran and previously served in the Army. If elected in November, Hunt will be the first Black congressman to have graduated from one of the five U.S. military academies. 

Hunt handily won his 10-candidate Republican primary earlier this month, receiving 55 percent of the vote and avoiding a runoff. His victory comes after the 38th Congressional District, which is located in the Houston area, was added as a result of the 2020 census. The Cook Political Report has rated the new district as “solid Republican.” 

He scored a number of notable GOP endorsements in the primary campaign, including former President Trump, McCarthy and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). 

In 2020, Hunt came close to ousting Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-Texas) in the state’s 7th Congressional District. 

His campaign told The Hill that his top priority until November is to “maximize the GOP’s House majority in 2023.”

“Clearing out a group of 10 people and winning without a runoff is an honor,” Hunt said in an interview with The Hill. “But it also puts me in a position to help out my future freshman classmates.” 

Hunt also noted the importance of recruiting candidates of color like James, Jeremy Hunt and Garcia. 

“We get to get them across the finish line,” he said.