Paxton leads Cornyn in Texas runoff: Poll

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton appears poised to defeat Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in the upcoming runoff contest for the Republican nomination, a recent poll has revealed.

Paxton led Cornyn 48% to 45% among likely voters in the latest Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston poll. A further 7% were undecided.

Cornyn placed first in the initial contest, but fell short of the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff. With the elimination of Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, from the race, Paxton appears to have the advantage.

President Donald Trump initially indicated plans to endorse one candidate over the other and to ask the non-recipient to drop out, though he did not do so. 

Paxton, for his part, offered to drop out if Cornyn could secure passage of the SAVE America Act, a marquis voter ID bill. But Cornyn was not able to do so.

Conducted April 28-May 1, the survey questioned 1,200 likely voters and has a margin of error of +/- 2.83%.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.