Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn continues to trail his 2026 primary opponent Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the polls, falling behind among GOP voters in every media market in the Lone Star State, according to a new survey.
The poll, conducted by GOP pollster Robert Blizzard for the Educational Freedom Institute and published in a memo shared with Punchbowl News, found that Paxton is leading the incumbent Cornyn by over 20 percentage points — 50% to 28% — in a head-to-head poll among statewide Republican primary voters. It comes amid rumors that a third major GOP candidate, Texas Republican Rep. Wesley Hunt, might enter the Senate primary contest.
Paxton led Cornyn among self-identified conservative voters 66% to 22%, high propensity primary voters 57% to 27%, MAGA voters 58% to 23% and seniors 47% to 35%, according to the poll.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 30: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton arrives to court during former U.S. President Donald Trump’s trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on April 30, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Curtis Means-Pool/Getty Images)
A majority of Republican voters, 54%, said they believe “it is time for a new Republican to be elected U.S. Senator,” while only 27% said, “the U.S. Senator has done a good enough job to deserve re-election,” according to Blizzard’s poll.
The poll also found that a significantly larger percentage of Texas GOP primary voters viewed Paxton more favorably than they viewed Cornyn. A strong majority — 65% — of the poll’s respondents indicated that they viewed Paxton favorably and only 22% viewed him unfavorably. Meanwhile, less than half — 48% — of the voters polled said that they had a favorable view of Cornyn — who has served in the Senate since 2002 — and 37% had an unfavorable opinion of him.
“It’s silly season for polling and this one takes the gold medal. A poll conducted by a longtime Paxton supporter doesn’t pass the smell test,” the senator’s senior campaign advisor Matt Mackowiak told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “We remain confident that once Republican primary voters fully understand Ken Paxton’s record of ethical failures, mismanagement and corruption, we will win this primary.”
Although Cornyn and Paxton currently remain the only major candidates a year out from Texas’ 2026 GOP Senate primary, other candidates such as Hunt may still enter.
An anonymous Texas GOP strategist told NOTUS that between the two men, “One can’t win the primary, and the other one puts us at great jeopardy of losing the seat in 2026, and neither of those are good outcomes for the party, not just in Texas, but from a national perspective.” The strategist characterized Cornyn and Paxton as “two 65-year-old-plus dudes swinging at each other” and both “pretty dated, somewhat stale candidates.”
Cornyn notably took a swing at Paxton in a New York Times interview published Friday, in which he alluded to the Attorney General’s past corruption allegations. Paxton responded by attacking Cornyn for voting for a gun control bill in 2022. (RELATED: ‘Corruption’ And ‘Betrayal’: GOP Senator Trailing In Key Race Unleashes War Of Words With Opponent)
The regional press secretary for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) — which is backing Cornyn — told NOTUS that Hunt “already has a role to play advancing the President’s agenda and helping protect his Majority in the House.”
Meanwhile, a strategist close to Paxton told the outlet that it would be “great” if Hunt entered the race.
Blizzard’s poll suggests that Hunt, a 43-year-old congressman in his second term, is largely an unknown quantity among Texas GOP primary voters with the vast majority rating him as neither favorable nor favorable. Thirty-four percent of poll respondents had a favorable view of Hunt while 3% had an unfavorable view of him.
The poll was conducted with 600 Republican primary voters on May 27-28 using a mixed mode methodology of live callers, text-to-web and cell phones.
Paxton’s campaign did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment. Hunt was unable to be reached for comment.
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