The latest poll on the 2026 Texas Republican Primary race for the U.S. Senate shows Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton with a statistically insignificant 1-point lead over incumbent U.S. Sen. Jon Cornyn, 27 percent-26 percent.
The Emerson College Poll, sponsored by Nexstar, was conducted Jan. 10-12 and polled 550 registered voters.
U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt of Houston — one of the first Black Republicans elected to the U.S. House from Texas — came in a distant third with 16 percent, while John Adefope (who I can’t find a photo of or any other info on other than he is a consultant) managed a mere 1 percent.
The Emerson College poll lists four other candidates in the GOP Primary — Anna Bender, Sara Canady, Gulrez “Gus” Khan and Virgil Bierschwale — all of whom stand at 0 percent.
But here’s the real kicker: 29 percent of those 550 registered voters reflected in the Emerson College poll said they do not know who they will vote for. So, yeah: Do Not Know is in the lead right now.
And apparently, that’s scary enough for Paxton — who is in an on-going battle with Gov. Greg Abbott for the title of Texas’ Biggest Homophobic Asshole — to launch yet another campaign leveraging the power of the Office of the Attorney General to increase his chances in the GOP Primary for U.S. Senate.
According to a press release issued today (Monday, Jan. 19) by the OAG, Paxton has issued “a first-of-its-kind legal opinion, unparalleled in its size and scope, declaring the unconstitutionality of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (“DEI”) policies and programs in Texas government.”
Paxton’s opinion declares that “decades’ worth of DEI frameworks — memorialized in over 100 woke state laws” are unconstitutional, including DEI programs in schools and state and local governments across Texas. He also warns that “every private company engaging in woke DEI practices is exposing themselves to significant legal liability under state and federal law.”
It’s worth noting here that while Paxton has his supporters on the right-wing edge of the world, critics consider his “opinions” to be ideologically driven, legally overreaching and designed to gain national attention rather than just represent the state’s legal interests. He has also faced a disciplinary lawsuit filed by the Commissioner for Lawyer Discipline over dishonesty in legal filings, although that lawsuit was dismissed “on jurisdictional grounds.”
It is also worth noting that Paxton issued a “legal opinion” declaring that gender-affirming health care for transgender minors is “child abuse,” so that Abbott would have something to base his directives to Child Protective Services to investigate parents helping their trans children get such care for child abuse.
To add racist insult to injury, Paxton issued this opinion on MLK Jr. Day and have the nerve to actually claim that his “action to dismantle DEI in Texas helps fulfill the vision articulated by Martin Luther King Jr. when he dreamed that his children would one day live in a nation where they were judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” said Attorney General Paxton.
He adds, “Our Constitution and our governmental system exist to protect life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all American citizens. Core to those foundational principles is the fact that racial discrimination is not only morally wrong, but it’s illegal as well. This may come as a news flash to the radicals on the far-left, but our Constitution and the rule of law do not allow woke, race-based favoritism that tears our country apart.
“It’s imperative that all private-sector employers, schools, and state and local government entities — based on this legal opinion — immediately abolish any DEI, affirmative action, or unconstitutional discrimination programs under their authority. We must return to the basic principles of equal opportunity for all.”
The press release — remember, this is an official press release from publicly-funded Office of the Attorney General, not a paid campaign press release — goes on to say, “In the wake of the Left’s decades-long effort to push radical propaganda, affirmative action, and DEI policies, Attorney General Paxton is making it clear that DEI is a thing of the past. His guidance restores a merit-based legal framework and reaffirms that Texas law does not permit discrimination in the name of ‘equity.’”
And — if it weren’t already painfully that this is a campaign plot rather than actual state business — the press release stresses that Paxton’s new “legal opinion also overrules previous Attorney General John Cornyn’s legal opinion that refused to address DEI’s faults and illegalities.
“In 1999, Cornyn muddied the waters by overturning a legally sound opinion that affirmed constitutional principles,” the press release says. “His actions left critical constitutional questions unresolved, which then allowed decades of DEI and discriminatory practices to proliferate across state government unchecked. Attorney General Paxton’s opinion restores clarity, order, and constitutional integrity.”
There’s more. You can read the full press release for yourself (if you have plenty of anti-nausea meds on hand). You can also read his full opinion online.
One more thing: Ilt is a Class A misdemeanor under Texas Election Code 255.003 for an officer or employee of a political subdivision to knowingly spend or authorize the spending of public funds for political advertising. Penalties could include up to a year in jail and/or a find of up to $4,000. And the Texas Ethics Commission has the authority to levy civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation when someone uses the resources of their elected/public office to campaign.
— Tammye Nash