Cornyn publicly calls Paxton “lazy” and a “poor campaigner”
A University of Texas poll shows Democratic candidate James Talarico leading Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton 42% to 39% in the state’s U.S. Senate race, according to a Wall Street Journal Politics newsletter published Monday. The seat is currently held by Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who has publicly criticized Paxton, calling him “lazy” and a “poor campaigner,” Paletta reported.
Paletta characterized the poll result as “an absolute steal for Democrats as they attempt to reclaim the Senate.” He described the contest as a “colossal collision of opposing forces” between “a young, social-media-savvy Democrat” and “the state’s well-known (but not necessarily well-liked) Republican attorney general.”
Paletta wrote that Talarico is “flooding the Texas airwaves with ads and raising money all over the place” and “appears to be more of a natural campaigner than Republican Ken Paxton.” Paxton’s campaign posted what Paletta described as a “rather low-energy video” of the attorney general online over the weekend, drawing “plenty of online mockery,” Paletta reported.
The newsletter also flagged potential vulnerabilities for Talarico. Paletta noted the Democrat’s past statement that “God is nonbinary,” which he characterized as “controversial,” and asked whether voters “really know him.” But Paletta cautioned that “Democrats shouldn’t get their cowboy hats out just yet.”
“This is a race,” Paletta wrote.