AUSTIN, Texas (Gray DC) – Texas voters head to the polls on Tuesday to choose between Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton in a Republican Senate primary runoff.<\/p>\n
The two candidates are facing off again after neither earned more than 50 percent of the vote in the March primary. The past 12 weeks have been marked by a contentious campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m eager for Election Day to get here so we can get the results,\u201d Cornyn said, in an interview on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The race shifted last week when President Donald Trump endorsed Paxton.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe the Texas candidate who\u2019s Ken Paxton, I think he\u2019ll win,\u201d Trump said a day after the endorsement on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Jessica Taylor of the Cook Political Report said Cornyn now faces a difficult path to victory.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is about as big a blow as you can get,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cIt would be a major shock to me if Cornyn were to win at this juncture.\u201d<\/p>\n
The winner will face Democratic nominee James Talarcio in the general election. Democrats have not won a statewide race in Texas since 1994.<\/p>\n
A recent poll from Texas Southern University shows Talarcio nearly tied with both Republican candidates.<\/p>\n
\u201cCertainly that gives a lot of optimism, if you look at those numbers in terms of what do they mean, what do they portend, for the Democratic party,\u201d said Michael Adams, a Texas Southern University political science professor.<\/p>\n
Polls are open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.<\/p>\n
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