'KenStoppers' truck drives around Texas State Capitol as latest part of John Cornyn campaign

KenStoppers truck seen in downtown Austin

The primaries for Texas Us Senate may not be until March, but tensions are high between incumbent Republican John Cornyn and challenger Attorney General Ken Paxton. In the latest turn, a truck was driving around the state capitol today, asking people to come forward with information on alleged crimes Paxton has committed. FOX 7 Austin's Marco Bitonel reports.

AUSTIN, Texas - Dozens of trucks come through Downtown Austin each day, but one driving around the capital on Wednesday was far different from any others.

It’s what’s being called the Ken Stoppers truck, and it's Sen. John Cornyn’s latest campaign against Ken Paxton, a new tactic to shine a light on any illegal activity they can find on the attorney general.

What they're saying:

On the side of each truck was a digital sign, asking the public to come forward with any knowledge of crimes committed by Ken Paxton. 

"We believe there are dozens and dozens of Texans who know something, who saw something, who heard something," says Matt Mackowiak, the senior advisor for Cornyn’s campaign. 

Mackowiak believes tales of illegal behavior from Paxton have gone untold across the state, and that’s what led them to create KenStoppers.

The website allows people to anonymously submit tips on the attorney general. It also has a hotline where the public can call in directly with any knowledge of illegal activity. 

Since 2020, Paxton has been under investigation after being accused of bribery and abusing his office, but in the final weeks of the Biden administration, the Justice Department decided to drop the case against the attorney general.

Paxton was also impeached by the Texas House in 2023, but acquitted that fall in the Texas Senate.

The other side:

Paxton’s office has not made an official statement on the KenStoppers campaign but in recent weeks, Paxton has been very vocal against Cornyn.

"He's been against the issues most Texans really care about a lot. That's going to come out in this election," said Paxton during an interview with FOX Business earlier this week. 

Paxton also took to social media against the Senator, with multiple posts on X, with some claiming Cornyn’s not a MAGA Republican but plays one on TV and that Cornyn was Biden’s point man in the Senate, just a few signs of an escalating race for Texas's Senate seat.