Democrat U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico continues to build on his lead in the Texas U.S. Senate contest.
A new analysis from the nonpartisan Cook Political Report has designated the Texas U.S. Senate battle a "toss-up." The analysis spells more trouble for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton as he continues to struggle against Talarico.
The two are set to meet in the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The winner will replace outgoing U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who was toppled by Paxton in a May primary runoff.
"This news proves what people across this state already know: we are going to end 30 years of one-party rule and take back Texas,” said J.T. Ennis, a spokesperson for Talarico's campaign, in a news release.“Ken Paxton
is bought by billionaire mega-donors and special interests, runs away every time a reporter asks him a question, and has spent his career enriching himself at the expense of working Texans. Texans are tired of this broken, corrupt political system and are ready to elect a leader who will fight for working people.”
The new analysis comes as Talarico has consistently polled ahead of Paxton in multiple surveys — a poll from the Barbara Jordan Public Policy Research and Survey Center at Texas Southern University saw Talarico ahead by two points, a Fox News poll had Talarico up by three points, and a Texas Public Opinion Research poll had Talarico ahead by five points.
The Cook analysis found that Talarico is maintaining a high favorability rating among likely voters, while Paxton is down by double digits when it comes to favorability. Even internal Republican polling shows the race tied as Talarico continues appealing to disaffected conservative voters.
“The last time Democrats had such hope in 2018 was Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s close matchup against GOP Sen. Ted Cruz," the report stated. "But O’Rourke’s polling was never as consistently competitive as state Rep. James Talarico’s numbers are against Republican nominee Ken Paxton, the state’s longtime attorney general.”
Adam Powell covers government and politics for the El Paso Times and can be reached via email at apowell@elpasotimes.com.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Talarico, Paxton face tighter Texas US Senate race, new analysis shows
