‘Silly Season’: GOP Senator Now Trailing Opponent In Poll By Over 20 Points, Though Race Far From Over

Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn continues to trail his 2026 primary opponent Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the polls, falling behind among GOP voters in every media market in the Lone Star State, according to a new survey.

The poll, conducted by GOP pollster Robert Blizzard for the Educational Freedom Institute and published in a memo shared with Punchbowl News, found that Paxton is leading the incumbent Cornyn by over 20 percentage points — 50% to 28% — in a head-to-head poll among statewide Republican primary voters. It comes amid rumors that a third major GOP candidate, Texas Republican Rep. Wesley Hunt, might enter the Senate primary contest.

Paxton led Cornyn among self-identified conservative voters 66% to 22%, high propensity primary voters 57% to 27%, MAGA voters 58% to 23% and seniors 47% to 35%, according to the poll.

A majority of Republican voters, 54%, said they believe “it is time for a new Republican to be elected U.S. Senator,” while only 27% said, “the U.S. Senator has done a good enough job to deserve re-election,” according to Blizzard’s poll.

The poll also found that a significantly larger percentage of Texas GOP primary voters viewed Paxton more favorably than they viewed Cornyn. A strong majority — 65% — of the poll’s respondents indicated that they viewed Paxton favorably and only 22% viewed him unfavorably. Meanwhile, less than half — 48% — of the voters polled said that they had a favorable view of Cornyn — who has served in the Senate since 2002 — and 37% had an unfavorable opinion of him.

“It’s silly season for polling and this one takes the gold medal. A poll conducted by a longtime Paxton supporter doesn’t pass the smell test,” the senator’s senior campaign advisor Matt Mackowiak told the 🏢Daily Caller News Foundation