salon.com: https://www.salon.com/2026/05/20/texas-gop-civil-war-gives-democrats-an-opening/

Speaker: —
Subject: C001056
Source: GDELT news · original
Published: Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Sen. John Cornyn (L) and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) (Illustration by Salon / Getty Images / Chitose Suzuki / The Dallas Morning News) Facebook X Reddit Email Save The Republican Senate primary runoff in Texas isn’t looking as high-stakes as it did at the start of the race two months ago, with the bruisin

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--> Texas GOP civil war gives Democrats an opening - Salon.com Subscribe Search News & Politics Culture Food Science & Health Money Life Stories Video Reviews Lifestyle The New Sober Boom Getting Hooked on Quitting Education Liberal Arts Cuts Are Dangerous Is College Necessary? Finance Dying Parents Costing Millennials Dear Gen Z Investing In Le Creuset Crypto Investing SEC vs Celebrity Crypto Promoters &#8216;Dark&#8217; Personalities Drawn to BTC News & Politics Culture Food Science & Health Money Life Stories Video Reviews Lifestyle The New Sober Boom Getting Hooked on Quitting Education Liberal Arts Cuts Are Dangerous Is College Necessary? Finance Dying Parents Costing Millennials Dear Gen Z Investing In Le Creuset Crypto Investing SEC vs Celebrity Crypto Promoters &#8216;Dark&#8217; Personalities Drawn to BTC Subscribe Spring Sale: Get 1 Year, Save 58% Newsletter News & Politics Culture Food Science & Health Money Video Search Texas GOP civil war gives Democrats an opening Both potential GOP candidates have torn each other down, and are now equally competitive in the general election By Russell Payne Staff Reporter Published May 20, 2026 6:30AM (EDT) U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (L) and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) (Illustration by Salon / Getty Images / Chitose Suzuki / The Dallas Morning News) Facebook X Reddit Email Save The Republican Senate primary runoff in Texas isn’t looking as high-stakes as it did at the start of the race two months ago, with the bruising primary leaving both Texas Republicans, Sen. John Cornyn and former Attorney General Ken Paxton, in a worse position than where they started. They’re also evenly matched against the Democratic nominee, state Rep. James Talarico . Ahead of the initial March 3 primary, when Paxton and Cornyn first faced off and Talarico defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett , D-Texas, there was significant debate over which potential matchup gave Democrats their best chance to flip the Senate seat, which will be crucial to Democrats’ plans to retake control of the Senate come November. Now, however, it seems like whoever prevails in the GOP runoff will have their work cut out for them. Related For Texas GOP, immigration politics show signs of fading potency New polling indicated that Paxton and Cornyn perform statistically identically when facing off against Talarico. A recent Barbara Jordan Public Policy Research and Survey Center and Texas Southern University poll found that in a matchup against Talarico, Cornyn would lead him 45% to 44%, and Paxton would be tied, with both at 45%. Both results are well within the poll’s plus or minus 2.8% margin of error. Polling from the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston also found that Republican primary voters see both candidates as equally strong for the general election context. When asked which candidate they believed was a stronger candidate for the general election, 43% said Paxton and 43% said Cornyn, with another 14% saying neither

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