With the runoff just three weeks away, the Texas Senate GOP race is down to the wire between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R-TX).
A new poll from the University of Houston‘s Hobby School of Public Affairs shows Paxton leading Cornyn by a 3-point margin. Paxton is polling at 48% among voters likely to cast ballots in the GOP runoff election on May 26, while Cornyn is polling at 45%. The poll is within margin of error, which sits at +/- 2.83%.
President Donald Trump has not yet weighed in with an endorsement in the runoff race, leaving Cornyn and Paxton to duke it out on their own for the Republican nomination. Ahead of the March 3 general primary election, Trump gave a triple-endorsement to Cornyn, Paxton, and Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX). But since the runoff between Paxton and Cornyn was decided, the president has not weighed in, despite teasing several times that he would.
A Trump endorsement could clear a lot of things up in the red state, as Republican voters continue to look to the president for where to turn at the ballot box. Seven percent of voters remain unsure which candidate they will cast their ballot for in the runoff, according to the poll.
The Senate Republican establishment has been urging Trump to endorse Cornyn, arguing he would be a safer play against Democratic candidate James Talarico in the general election. But Paxton, a conservative with a strong MAGA record, has remained one of Trump’s most staunch defenders during his time in office.
POLL: JAMES TALARICO PULLS AHEAD OF BOTH JOHN CORNYN AND KEN PAXTON, FUELING DEMOCRATS’ HOPES
However, there is still hope that Trump could issue an eleventh-hour endorsement in the runoff before May 26.
In Kentucky, where the three-way primary for the Senate GOP nomination to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) became a race primed for Trump’s blessing, Trump jumped in with an endorsement for Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) just over two weeks out from Election Day. Trump’s endorsement prompted businessman Nate Morris to drop out of the race and back Barr, while former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron opted to stay in for the May 19 primary.