{"id":96281,"date":"2025-12-21T17:16:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T17:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/96281\/"},"modified":"2025-12-21T17:16:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T17:16:10","slug":"polling-shows-tight-gop-primary-as-texas-senate-race-heats-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/96281\/","title":{"rendered":"Polling shows tight GOP Primary as Texas Senate Race heats up"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Tight Tight GOP Primary in Texas Senate as race heats up<\/a> <\/p>\n

John Cornyn faces high-profile primary challenges from Ken Paxton and Wesley Hunt, while Democrats Jasmine Crockett and James Talarico compete for their party’s nomination in the tightening 2026 Texas U.S. Senate race.<\/p>\n

AUSTIN – As 2025 draws to a close, attention in Texas politics is turning to the 2026 midterm elections, with one of the most closely watched races expected to be the contest for the U.S. Senate.<\/p>\n

\"\" The primary challenge for Cornyn <\/p>\n

What we know:<\/p>\n

Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who has held the seat since 2002, is seeking reelection but faces a competitive field in both the primary and the general election. Political analysts say the longtime senator may be facing one of the toughest challenges of his career.<\/p>\n

\"\" A battle for the GOP base <\/p>\n

One of Cornyn\u2019s most prominent challengers is Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who announced his Senate campaign in April. Paxton and Cornyn have frequently criticized one another on social media, questioning each other\u2019s conservative credentials and loyalty to former President Donald Trump. Paxton has argued that Cornyn\u2019s more than two decades in office reflect a need for new leadership.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

The Republican primary field also includes U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt of Houston, a former Army officer who represents Texas\u2019 38th Congressional District. Block said candidates\u2019 alignment with Trump\u2019s priorities could be a deciding factor in the primary race.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

A December poll from J.L. Partners showed Paxton with a narrow lead among likely Republican primary voters, with 29% support. Hunt and Cornyn were tied at 24% each, while 23% of respondents said they were undecided.<\/p>\n

The democratic field takes shape <\/p>\n

The other side:<\/p>\n

On the Democratic side, a competitive primary is shaping up between U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas and state Rep. James Talarico of Austin.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Crockett filed paperwork to run for Senate just hours before the state\u2019s Dec. 8 filing deadline. She has become one of the Democratic Party\u2019s most outspoken members in Congress and has drawn national attention for her sharp criticism of Trump.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Talarico, a former middle school teacher, has gained prominence through social media, where he has amassed millions of followers across multiple platforms. Block said Democrats are likely to focus their campaigns on economic issues.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

A December poll from Texas Southern University found Crockett leading the Democratic primary field with 51% support among likely voters. Talarico followed with 43%, while 6% said they were undecided.<\/p>\n

What they’re saying:<\/p>\n

“This is going to be one of the toughest elections that John Cornyn is going to face,” said Joshua Block, head of research at the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas.<\/p>\n

Block said Cornyn\u2019s lengthy tenure, while an asset in general elections, may pose challenges in a Republican primary.<\/p>\n

“One of the many things that make John Cornyn such a strong politician and strong general election candidate, his longevity, his service, his role in the leadership of the Republican Party, make him an object of skepticism in the Republican primary,” Block said.<\/p>\n

\"\" Pocketbook Issues vs. Political Loyalty <\/p>\n

“It\u2019s going to be a commitment to the president\u2019s agenda,” Block said. “It\u2019s going to be about immigration and border security, and increasingly it\u2019s probably going to have to be about what the Republican response is to affordability and how that looks in a state like Texas.”<\/p>\n

Local perspective:<\/p>\n

“With Crockett and Talarico, you have two very different style candidates, and it\u2019s going to be interesting to see how the Democratic electorate reacts to both,” Block said.<\/p>\n

“I think they\u2019re going to lean into pocketbook issues, kitchen table issues and affordability,” Block said. “Currently, the Republican Party is having a difficult time responding to that.”<\/p>\n

Important Dates for Voters <\/p>\n

What’s next:<\/p>\n

Early voting for the Texas primary elections begins Feb. 17, with Election Day set for March 3.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

The Source: Information in this article was provided by FOX 7’s Marco Bitonel.<\/p>\n

Election<\/a>Texas Politics<\/a>Politics<\/a>Texas<\/a>U.S. Senate<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tight GOP Primary in Texas Senate as race heats up John Cornyn faces high-profile primary challenges from Ken…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":96282,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[36684,409,287,27,29,28,216,395,393,44606],"class_list":{"0":"post-96281","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-texas","8":"tag-2020-election","9":"tag-election","10":"tag-politics","11":"tag-texas","12":"tag-texas-headlines","13":"tag-texas-news","14":"tag-tx","15":"tag-tx-politics","16":"tag-us","17":"tag-us-senate"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}