Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-Texas) reelection campaign is facing serious warning signs as new polling shows the state’s Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) widening his lead in the Republican Senate primary.

A poll conducted by GOP pollster Robert Blizzard on behalf of the Educational Freedom Institute showed Cornyn trailing Paxton by 22 points among the state’s Republican primary voters. The same poll shows Paxton leading among key demographics within the state’s GOP primary electorate, including seniors and voters who identified as “MAGA.”

While Cornyn’s campaign has dismissed the findings as biased and as “silly season” for polling, the findings are the latest in a string of polls showing the longtime incumbent trailing his primary challenger. Texas Republicans say it’s another sign that Cornyn needs to ramp up his attacks and spending ahead of February’s primary.

“I think those numbers today are going to force Cornyn to go up on air and take a chunk out of Ken Paxton pretty damn soon,” one Republican strategist told The Hill. “The question is, can he?”

The senator’s former campaign manager Brendan Steinhauser noted that Cornyn’s team will not hold back in an effort to define Paxton early in the primary.

“I think they’re going to have to spend a lot of money early to try and make their case given where we are in the polling right out of the gate,” Steinhauser said.

And Cornyn’s campaign has already begun going on offense against Paxton. Last week, the incumbent senator’s campaign rolled out four new ads........

© The Hill