EXCLUSIVE: GOP Rep. Wesley Hunt Slams NRSC Staffer Over 'Racist' Comment
"It is both surprising and deeply disheartening,"Hunt said.
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WASHINGTON — Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX), who is running for the U.S. Senate, has accused a senior National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) staffer of making racist comments after a controversial post surfaced on X.
The incident involves Jennifer DeCasper, executive director of the NRSC and a Black woman, who posted a comment mocking a photo of Hunt and his wife at the White House, writing: “Those gray ankles got dude looking like he just did a tap-dance routine in a bag of flour.”
Hunt slammed DeCasper’s remarks and said he is disheartened to see such rhetoric from senior staff serving under NRSC Chairman Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who is also a Black Republican.
“As a Black Republican, I am no stranger to vile and racist tropes aimed at my family and me,” Hunt told 24Sight News in a statement. “Historically, those attacks have come almost exclusively from the radical left. That is why it is both surprising and deeply disheartening to now see similar behavior coming from individuals serving at the NRSC under Senator Tim Scott. We should hold ourselves to a higher standard. We can do better.”
The NRSC did not respond to a request for comment.
One senior GOP strategist argued that the comments were tone-deaf and insensitive, saying they undermine the party’s work to recruit minority voters.
“While the party tries to recruit minorities, they are making jokes about a minority congressman,” the operative said.
The post comes amid an increasingly contentious Republican primary race for Texas’s Senate seat. Scott is supporting Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), the longtime incumbent, for re-election in a three-way primary battle between Cornyn, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and Hunt.
Polling earlier this year showed Paxton with commanding leads of 16-17 points over Cornyn in head-to-head matchups, but recent surveys have shown the race tightening considerably. A University of Houston poll conducted in late September found Paxton at 34%, Cornyn at 33%, and Hunt at 22% in the three-way race.
Some GOP strategists have expressed concerns that Hunt’s decision to enter the race could lead to an expensive runoff, with lower turnout in such contests typically benefiting more conservative candidates like Paxton over establishment figures like Cornyn. Some operatives have argued that Paxton’s past controversies could hurt him in a general election, while Cornyn critics have said he is not aligned enough with President Trump — an assertion Cornyn supporters have dismissed, citing his voting record.
Hunt entered the race in October 2025 despite strong opposition from the NRSC, which called his Senate bid a “vanity project” and urged donors to withdraw their support in a memo released in September. Critics have also pointed to Hunt’s attendance record in Congress and questioned his path to victory.
DeCasper served as Scott’s chief of staff for years before managing his 2024 presidential bid. She took over as NRSC executive director in December 2024 and has led the committee’s work to defend Republican Senate seats in the 2026 midterms.
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