AUSTIN, Texas – Veteran Mary Jennings Hegar announced that she is running against incumbent John Cornyn for the U.S. Senate on Tuesday.

  • MJ Hegar running for Senate
  • Opposing Republican John Cornyn
  • She is a decorated Texas veteran

Hegar previously ran for the U.S. House and lost to Rep. John Carter, R-Texas. She lost the race by 3.1 percent. 

During her campaign for the House, Hegar received support from an Oscar-winning actress. Natalie Portman joined Hegar for a campaign event in Cedar Park.

“Washington still has a lot of listening to do, and I’m gonna make sure they hear us,” Hegar said in the Twitter video announcement. “Texans deserve a senator who represents our values: strength, courage, independence, putting Texas first.”

Hegar was raised in Texas and joined the Air Force through the University of Texas ROTC program in 1999. She served three tours in Afghanistan after entering pilot training with the Air National Guard.

In 2009, Hegar was awarded a Purple Heart after she was shot and wounded in Afghanistan.

Hegar lives in Round Rock with her husband and two kids.

In order to take on Cornyn, Hegar could face a competitive primary. Congressman Joaquin Castro of San Antonio has also said he’s considering a run and will make an announcement soon. There are a number of other candidates also weighing a bid for Senate.

REACTIONS: 

Sen. John Cornyn's campaign responded to Hegar's announcement with the following statement:

  • “Passing laws to help sexual assault victims, veterans, and those hit by Hurricane Harvey are just a few examples of John Cornyn fighting tirelessly for all Texans. MJ Hegar is Chuck Schumer’s handpicked candidate for good reason: she supports government run healthcare that would eliminate private insurance, crushing new taxes, and late-term abortion. Texans rejected her radical views once and they will again. It appears Chuck Schumer was able to push Joaquin Castro out of the race, and we’ll see if he has the same success with Councilwoman Edwards.”

Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro released the following statement: 

  • “Texans should be proud that MJ is running in 2020. She brings a ton of great qualities to the race and will provide a unique perspective that all of us ought to take seriously - especially Washington John Cornyn. As we said last week, the era of uncontested primaries in Texas is over. Every candidate in this race has announced on their own timeline and is making their own case to the voters of Texas. Joaquin is no different. The last two campaigns he has fought, and won, started with a tough primary.The stakes are too high for us to lose focus on what really matters right now, and that's defeating Trump's number one cheerleader and enabler in Texas, Washington John Cornyn. It's time we had a Senator that stands up for Texas, instead of standing down to Donald Trump.”