U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has weighed in on the republican candidate who defeated him in the primaries and is vying to replace him.
Speaking to a CNN reporter on Sept. 24, Cornyn said he would not help fundraise for Texas Attorney GeneralKen Paxton, who is locked in a closely watched Senate race against Democrat James Talarico.
When asked why, Cornyn responded, "Well, for all the reasons that we pointed out in the primary."
"I think the risk for Republicans is if we nominate a flawed candidate in November, we risk losing," Cornyn said.
Texas hasn't elected a Democrat to a statewide office since 1994 and to one of its U.S. Senate seats since 1988.
The reporter also asked whether Paxton deserves to be a senator, and Cornyn responded, "I'll leave that up
to the voters to decide."
Paxton and Cornyn were previously locked in a bitter Republican primary in March that led to a May runoff. Paxton ultimately defeated Cornyn by 28 percentage points in the runoff to become the party's nominee.
Recent polling shows Talarico leading Paxton — who has the endorsement andfinancial backing of President Donald Trump — weeks out from Election Day in November. Trump also said during the Republican midterm convention in Dallas in early September that he would return to Texas to campaign for Paxton.
Recent Texas U.S. Senate race polls
Here's what September polls have shown so far:
- N+ Univision (Sept. 9) — Talarico 48%, Paxton 43%.
- Texas Southern University (Sept. 22) — Talarico 47%, Paxton 46%.
- ReconMR Texas Poll (Sept. 17) — Talarico 49%, Paxton 43%.
- Emerson College (Sept. 17) — Talarico 47%, Paxton 46%.
- Mason-Dixon Polling & Research (Sept. 15) — Talarico 46%, Paxton 43%.
- SoCal Strategies (Sept. 13) — Talarico 50%, Paxton 45%.
- AARP (Sept. 10) — Talarico 48%, Paxton 44%.
Mateo Rosiles is the Texas Connect reporter for USA TODAY and its regional papers in Texas. Got a news tip for him? Email him at mrosiles@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cornyn calls Paxton 'flawed,' won't fundraise for Texas Senate
