Poll finds Talarico and Paxton tied in Texas Senate race

A new poll finds James Talarico and Ken Paxton tied at 49% among likely voters in Texas’s U.S. Senate race.

Democrat Talarico and Republican Paxton are competing to replace Sen.

John Cornyn, who lost the Republican primary to Paxton.

Texas has not backed a Democrat in a statewide race for more than 30 years, making the contest a test of that long Republican run.

Talarico leads among Hispanic voters, who favor him by 30 points, while Paxton has strong support among White evangelical Christians and rural voters.

Even so, Texas voters favor Republican control of the Senate by four points, and the poll also finds Democrats more enthusiastic about voting.

Voters are divided over concerns that Talarico is too liberal or that Paxton is too close to President Trump.

The Senate seat will be decided in this year’s election, and the pollster says turnout and whether dissatisfied Republicans support Paxton could be crucial.