Texas Senate Candidate Files Police Report Against Rival Campaign Staffer

Rep. Wesley Hunt, a Republican candidate in Texas’ U.S. Senate primary, filed a police report Tuesday after a senior staffer for one of his GOP opponents posted an image of a 2016 provisional ballot that included sensitive personal information about Hunt and his family.

The document reportedly displayed the last four digits of Hunt’s Social Security number, his driver’s license ID number, and a home address.

Matt Mackowiak, the communications director for Sen. John Cornyn’s reelection campaign, shared the unredacted ballot image on his X account last Friday. Cornyn’s campaign account later reposted the images, which have since been deleted.

Sources from the Hunt campaign told Fox News Digital that when law enforcement asked Hunt whether he intended to press charges, he said yes.

A Hunt campaign source also said authorities plan to subpoena X to recover the deleted post showing Hunt’s personal information.

Hunt accused Mackowiak and the Cornyn campaign of endangering his family by “doxxing” them.

“The tragic situation involving Savannah Guthrie is a painful reminder of how vulnerable our family truly is,” Hunt told Fox News Digital. “They should never be put in harm’s way. And yet, that’s exactly what happened to my family.”

“Despite knowing how dangerous and irresponsible it is to doxx someone’s family, the Cornyn campaign did it to mine,” Hunt added. “What happened to my family members should never happen to anyone.”

“Instead, his campaign’s actions put my family at risk, and they’ve chosen to look the other way,” Hunt continued. “I will continue to pursue every legal avenue available to make sure my parents are safe and that those responsible are held accountable.”

Mackowiak defended his actions by noting that the documents are public records and could be obtained by requesting them from the county clerk. He also pointed to a Daily Mail report that published the unredacted documents on Saturday, one day after his post.

In that article, the photos are credited to the Cornyn campaign.

Before Mackowiak’s post, the Hunt campaign had provided the provisional ballot to the Houston Chronicle for a story published last Thursday, but the sensitive information was redacted.

The dispute stems from Hunt’s past statement that he had “supported President Trump since 2016.” However, the ballot controversy arose because no ballot was ultimately cast on Nov. 4, 2016, since Hunt was not registered to vote at the time.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is also challenging both Hunt and Cornyn in the Republican primary, condemned the Cornyn campaign’s handling of the situation.

“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 said in a statement on X.

“The man who’s made ‘character’ the centerpiece of his campaign is cheering on his staff doxxing his opponent’s family,” Paxton added in another post.

“Character does matter, but John’s never had any and tonight proves that,” Paxton said.

Republican Party of Texas General Counsel Rachel Hooper also said the release of Hunt’s personal information warrants investigation.

“Over the past two years, we have witnessed multiple assassination attempts against President Trump and the assassination of Charlie Kirk,” Hooper told Fox News Digital.

“As a former prosecutor and former deputy chief of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, the public release of personal identifying information should be investigated and the safety of elected officials, candidates, and their families must be given the utmost priority,” she added.

Still, some legal experts expressed doubt that the incident will lead to criminal charges under federal law or Texas Penal Code 42.074.

“Laws criminalizing the posting of Social Security numbers, addresses, or other personal information are generally focused on situations in which the specific intent in posting the personal information was to doxx, intimidate, harass, or otherwise cause harm,” former federal prosecutor Andrew Cherkasky told Fox News Digital.

“Specific intent crimes are often very difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, particularly where there appears to be a legitimate (potentially First Amendment protected) intent to post for the purpose of exposing political affiliations,” Cherkasky said.

The controversy comes as early voting for the Texas Republican Senate primary began Tuesday.

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