Talarico holds small lead over Cornyn, Paxton in US Senate race, poll finds

Texas U.S. Senate race is still a hot topic

Political spiritual warfare is starting to gain ground as the midterm fight moves from the Primary election. The Texas Senate race may be the biggest battleground.

AUSTIN, Texas - Some of the first polling of the general election race for U.S. Senate in Texas showed that the Democratic candidate has the lead over both Republicans vying for the seat.

Texas state Rep. James Talarico won the Democratic Party’s nomination during last week’s primary. However, the Republicans running for the office – incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton – are preparing for a May runoff after neither of them cracked the 50% threshold during the primary.

The poll was conducted by Public Policy Polling between March 4 and 5 and asked respondents questions ranging from the favorability of President Donald Trump to their education. Respondents were 30% Democrat, 41% Republican and 30% Independent.

From left to right: Texas Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and state Rep. James Talarico. (Getty Images)

Favorability and matchups

More people held a favorable opinion of Talarico than either Cornyn or Paxton. However, more people saw Paxton as unfavorable than Cornyn.

Having trouble viewing this chart? Click here.

The poll also asked people who they would vote for in two different scenarios – Cornyn vs. Talarico and Paxton vs. Talarico. In both cases, more people said they would vote for the Democrat than the Republican.

Having trouble viewing this chart? Click here.

What they're saying:

"These numbers suggest a close race regardless of who the GOP nominates," pollsters wrote in a release about the survey. "The Texas Senate race will be highly competitive; driven by Talarico’s broad approval, and Cornyn and Paxton’s general election liabilities."

Trump factor

Respondents were just about evenly split on their approval of Trump’s job performance, with 49% approving and 48% disapproving.

The president notably stayed out of the primary race by not endorsing any candidate.

However, Trump said after the runoff reality of the GOP Senate race that he would be endorsing a candidate "soon" and would ask the other candidate to drop out.

Paxton has said he would consider dropping out of the race if Congress passes the Save America Act, which seeks to require proof of citizenship when registering to vote.