Fox Poll: Nearly a Quarter of Non-MAGA Republicans Support Talarico in Texas Senate Race

A new Fox News poll released Thursday suggests Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico is making inroads with Republican voters, with 24% of non-MAGA Republicans saying they support him over Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Paxton’s candidacy, despite winning an endorsement from President Donald Trump over longtime incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), has been scandal-ridden, with questions about alleged voter fraud, lavish vacations with what some call his “mistress,” his office’s plea deal with child sex predator Adam Hoffman, and more.

The poll, which shows Talarico leading Paxton 51 to 48%, randomly sampled 1,006 Texas registered voters, with a margin of error of ±3 percentage points.

Fox News’ Garrett Tenney said Friday that these results “give the [Democratic] Party some hope” that they could win in Texas, explaining, “The brutal GOP primary with John Cornyn is having a lingering impact on how voters feel about Ken Paxton — particularly Republican voters.”

He continued:

While 98% of Democrats support James Talarico, along with 68% of independents, only 89% of Republicans are behind Paxton. And when you break down those GOP voters, nearly a quarter of non-MAGA Republicans said they support Talarico.

Why is that? Well, one reason is that more voters are concerned Paxton lacks the character to serve than they are that Talarico is too extreme. 36% of Republicans and 59% of voters overall said they are extremely or very concerned that Paxton lacks character, while only 17%. of Democrats and 47% of voters overall said they’re at least very concerned Talarico is too extreme.

Tenney went on to note that Democrats have not won a statewide election in Texas in 32 years.

And still, as the Fox News poll notes, “about 8 in 10 Paxton and Talarico supporters say their backing is more about where the candidates stand on the issues than who they are as people.”

Watch the clip above via Fox News.

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