A new poll shows Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is in a near- statistical dead heat with incumbent Senator John Cornyn in the GOP primary runoff. The University of Houston’s Hobby school conducted the poll, with less than two weeks before the start of early voting.
The survey shows Paxton leading Cornyn 48% to 45% among likely voters, with 7% undecided. As Houston Public Media reports, Mark Jones, of Rice University’s Baker Institute, is co-author of the survey. “Paxton retains an overwhelming majority of his support from March, as does Cornyn, with Wesley Hunt voters though leaning towards Paxton, 54% to 35%.”
The poll shows Cornyn leading Paxton by 10% among likely voters with at least a 4-year college degree, while Paxton leads by 17% among those who do not have such a degree.
Among all likely May Republican primary voters, the top three issues are immigration and border security (33%), inflation and the cost of living (25%) and election integrity (22%).
But in taking a closer look, there is a sizeable difference between voting groups in the second and third issues, with 31% of Paxton supporters calling election integrity a high priority to them compared to just 13% of Cornyn supporters.
Almost the exact opposite is seen on the issue of inflation & cost of living, in which just 13% of Paxton supporters choose it as a high priority, with 36% of Cornyn supporters doing the same.
When it comes to factors such as likability, 50% and 43% of likely May voters have a favorable and unfavorable opinion of Paxton, respectively, with 7% not knowing enough about him to have an opinion. 47% and 49% of likely May voters have a favorable and unfavorable opinion of Cornyn, respectively, with 4% not knowing enough about him to have an opinion.
