Here’s the latest news out of Texas today courtesy of Emerson University’s latest poll:
The poll also projects a wide-open Democratic primary race for the Senate seat held by longtime incumbent John Cornyn. At 19%, "someone else" is leading the field, a blow to former Army helicopter pilot MJ Hegar, who's been campaigning for most of the year.
That "someone else" is leading the entire field is an oddity, but reflects the complexity of the primary race and the conundrum felt by many Democrats.
Hegar was the choice of 10% of those polled, followed by state Sen. Royce West at 8%, former U.S. Rep. Chris Bell at 7% and Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards at 5%. A whopping 51% of respondents were unsure.
West, Bell and Edwards are all relatively new to the race.
"I wouldn't be surprised to see other people jump into the race," said Spencer Kimball, the Emerson College polling director. "It's just that wide open."
The news is not great for Cornyn, the powerful incumbent who's held the seat since 2003. Only 37% approved of his job performance, while 31% disapproved. The polls found that 33% of Texans were neutral or had no opinion.
"That's not a good place to be. It shows that he's vulnerable," Kimball said of Cornyn's poll numbers, noting that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had an approval rating of 50%, with only 27% not liking his performance.
"The good news for him is that he doesn't have disapproval in the GOP," Kimball said, noted his rating was 57% approval and 16% disapproval among Republicans.
The poll was conducted Aug. 1-3 among a sample of 1,033 registered voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 3%. For the Democratic presidential primary, about 400 people were surveyed with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9%.
Still plenty of time for Texas Democrats to find their nominee. In the meantime, click below to donate and get involved with the following Democrats campaigns:
MJ Hegar
Amanda Edwards
Royce West