State Rep. James Talarico, a Democrat, is neck-and-neck with Republican Sen. John Cornyn in a hypothetical general-election matchup to determine which represents Texas in the U.S. Senate, a new poll shows.
Talarico leads Cornyn by a single point, 44%-43%, according to results released Monday by Raleigh-based Public Policy Polling. The Democratic Party-aligned polling group surveyed 576 likely voters March 4-5 to get its results.
The poll is the first released since Talarico defeated U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett in last week’s Democratic primary. He won a 52%-46% victory in that race.
Meanwhile, both Cornyn and his runoff rival, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, failed to garner more than half the vote in their primary, which some speculate could be decided by an endorsement from President Donald Trump.
Well, maybe.
In a rambling Truth Social post following Talarico’s victory, Trump said he would soon make an endorsement in the runoff between Cornyn and Paxton, adding that he will ask the candidate he doesn’t back to drop out.
“We have an easy to beat, Radical Left Opponent, and we have to TOALLY FOCUS on putting him away, quickly and decisively! Both John and Ken ran great races, but not good enough…I will be making my Endorsement soon, and will be asking the candidate I don’t Endorse to immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE!” the president declared.
A former public school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian who often weaves biblical beliefs into his progressive stump speeches, Talarico is viewed as a threat by the GOP. Political observers theorize that he could wrangle enough disaffected Republicans and red-leaning independents to flip a Texas statewide seat blue for the first time since 1994.
Talarico’s odds look especially good against the scandal-ridden Paxton, who was nearly impeached over claims he abused his office, faced an FBI investigation, took a plea deal in a state securities case and is currently going through a messy public divorce.
On Friday, Paxton moved to stave off a Trump endorsement for his opponent by announcing he’d voluntarily drop out of the race if the U.S. Senate passes the SAVE AMERICA ACT, backed by Trump. That legislation would require voters to show proof of citizenship to register and a photo ID to cast a ballot — something civil rights groups say would block millions from the polls.
Paxton’s campaign treasurer also filed paperwork the day after the election to create two new political action committees, or PACs, to back the Texas AG — an indication he may not be looking to exit the runoff anytime soon.
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