Hollywood actor Patton Oswalt and Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-TX) re-election campaign traded barbs on Twitter Tuesday after the comedian endorsed the incumbent senator’s Democrat challenger.

Patton Oswalt appears in Democrat MJ Hegar’s campaign announcement video, which the Finest Hour star tweeted to his nearly 4.5 million followers. Cornyn’s campaign account responded to the endorsement with screenshots of vulgar tweets previously sent by Oswalt. “Hollywood Hegar supporter and video guest star, Patton Oswalt, has tweeted some offensive comments over the years, reply A or B to let us know which one is more offensive to you,” Team Cornyn tweeted.

https://twitter.com/TeamCornyn/status/1120715584310738944

In a series of follow-up tweets, the campaign shared past posts of Patton Oswalt in which he refered to Pope Francis’ penis a woman knitting with her vagina.

Oswalt replied by mocking the campaign for censoring the word “penis” and shared a link to Hegar’s donation page. “I just noticed: you *****’d the word “penis.” Oh my god you Pepperidge Farm dipshit. Go tell your constituents about the time you babysat Chester A. Arthur, drink your Ensure, and sit down,” he wrote.

https://twitter.com/pattonoswalt/status/1120740022695550976

Oswalt further mocked Cornyn, alleging that the Texas Senator was “scared shitless” of Hegar and therefore would not participate in a debate with her. “[S]o this is the straw he’s grasping at. Good luck, Pop-Pop!” he quipped.

https://twitter.com/pattonoswalt/status/1120747884163391488

Hegar, an Air Force veteran whose campaign ads nearly helped her get elected in one of Texas’ most Republican-friendly congressional districts last year, set her sights higher on Tuesday and launched a run for Senate against Cornyn.

Hegar, 43, is the first big-name Democrat to jump into one of 2020′s marquee races. Her decision to run sets up a potential rarity in Texas — a contested Democratic primary near the top of the ticket.

Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) is also considering running for the seat and signaled Tuesday that Hegar’s entry wouldn’t influence his decision.

Cornyn remains a formidable incumbent in Texas, where a Democrat hasn’t won a U.S. Senate seat since the 1970s. He was the Number 2 Republican in the chamber until this year and has never faced a serious re-election challenge since joining the Senate in 2002.

Hegar has openly flirted with a Senate run for months and has had talks with Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer. Texas has only had one female U.S. senator, Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison, who left office in 2012 and was replaced by Cruz.

Cornyn’s campaign also attacked Hegar as “Chuck Schumer’s handpicked candidate,” and it defended Cornyn’s record on veterans and helping Texas through the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

“Texas rejected her radical views once and they will again,” said Cornyn’s campaign manager, John Jackson.

 

The AP contributed to this report.