GOP Polling Memo Shows Cornyn Gaining on Paxton in Texas Senate Primary
27th August 2025
Politico, a Voice of the Crust.
Embattled incumbent John Cornyn is gaining steam in the Texas Senate primary, and an internal memo obtained by POLITICO shows Republican leaders want donors to pump money into the race to help the incumbent Senator edge out his rival, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The Senate Leadership Fund, a top Senate GOP super PAC that drew up the document dated Aug. 26, concedes Cornyn “continues to be a weak candidate who puts the Senate seat at risk in a general election,” but it also said he has considerably closed the gap with Paxton. Previous polling showed him down by an average of about 17 points in public polling.
Polls conducted by Texas Southern University, Emerson College and Echelon Insights show Paxton now has a modest 5 to 8 percentage point advantage. SLF’s latest polling, which was conducted from Aug. 17 to 19, shows Paxton is now leading Cornyn by 8 percentage points.
Paxton comes with a lot of baggage, and people don’t so much like him as they hate the RINO that Cornyn had become. I predict that Cornyn will squeak by, now that he’s had a sufficiently thorough scare.