Talarico leads Cornyn, Paxton in new Texas Senate poll

Key Points:

• Democratic state Rep. James Talarico leads prospective Republican opponents Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton by narrow margins in a Texas Public Opinion Research poll, though results are within the margin of error, indicating a close Senate race in November.
• The poll shows Talarico with strong support among voters of color, college-educated Texans, and independents, significantly outperforming Republicans among Black and Latino voters as well as independents.
• Despite Talarico's leads, the Cook Political Report still rates the Texas Senate seat as "likely Republican," with Cornyn and Paxton competing in a May 26 runoff to determine the GOP nominee.
• Talarico holds a favorable impression rating higher than his Republican opponents, who both have low favorability scores, while the Republican primary for Senate remains highly competitive and expensive.
• In other statewide races, Republicans maintain leads in the governor and attorney general contests according to the poll, though the governor's race is within the margin of error, and both parties face runoff elections for attorney general nominations.