A new poll shows Texas Democrat Senate candidate James Talarico slightly leading Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as the two candidates battle it out to replace incumbent Sen. John Cornyn.

From Fox News:

President Donald Trump won the Lone Star state by nearly 14 percentage points in 2024, but a new Fox News Poll of Texas registered voters suggests this year's Senate race is far less settled. Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton has yet to fully unify the GOP despite the president’s endorsement in the GOP primary against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn.

In addition, more voters are concerned Paxton lacks the character to serve than worry Democratic challenger James Talarico is too extreme, and more Democrats than Republicans are extremely motivated to vote (by 7 points) and extremely interested in the midterms (by 6).

Those dynamics give Talarico a 3-point edge over Paxton (51% vs. 48%) in the Senate contest (within the survey’s margin of sampling error).

Talarico's advantage in the race grows to 6 points among both extremely motivated and extremely interested voters (53% vs. 47% in each group).

Most independents (68%) and virtually all Democrats support Talarico (98%), while fewer Republicans are unified behind Paxton (89%).

In part, that’s because one quarter of non-MAGA Republicans back Talarico (24%).

Paxton is the choice among White evangelical Christians, White men without a college degree, rural voters, regular worship attenders, men and voters ages 65 and older.

Some of Talarico’s best groups are Black voters, moderates, voters under age 30, Hispanic voters, women and voters with a college degree.

At this point, it’s anybody’s race if these numbers hold. Previous polls have shown similar results, with several showing Paxton with a slight lead over Talarico.

Over the past few days, the Paxton campaign has focused on launching a multi-city “Protecting the Texas Promise” Tour to push his economic agenda of tax relief for Texans. According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the four-city tour begins Tuesday in Allen in the Dallas-Fort Worth area at Matt’s Rancho Martinez, then moves to Houston, McAllen and San Antonio later in the week.

Paxton said in a press release that the plan will “put thousands of dollars back into the pockets of hardworking Texans.” The candidate is using the tour to tout ideas such as tax deductions for first-time homebuyers, making certain savings accounts permanent and doubling the child tax credit.

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Meanwhile, the Talarico campaign has continued grassroots outreach in recent days, including a stop at a union training center in San Antonio where the candidate discussed worker pay, skilled trades and immigration enforcement. Talarico visited the site on Thursday and emphasized organized labor and higher wages. “I have a track record of fighting for working people. Ken Paxton has a track of selling out working people, that is the difference in this race,” Talarico said. “We need a champion for Texas workers in the U.S. Senate.”