John Cornyn Sinks, Wesley Hunt Rises in New GOP Primary Poll

U.S. Senator John Cornyn's (R) standing among Texas Republican primary voters has continued to decrease sharply, according to a new late-November poll from Stratus Intelligence, which shows him slipping into a decisive third place while his favorability ratings collapse.

Cornyn now holds a 35% favorable to 51% unfavorable image rating, placing him 16 points below where he was earlier this month, when he was roughly even. The share of Republican voters who view him "very unfavorably" has climbed to 28%.

Pollsters conclude that "Cornyn's already wounded image has entered a tailspin," noting he has suffered a net 40-point drop in favorability since Wesley Hunt (R) entered the race.

On the latest three-way ballot, Ken Paxton (R) leads with 36%, Hunt follows with 26% and Cornyn trails at 25%, despite more than $40 million spent on Cornyn's behalf this year.

In direct matchups, he fares even worse. Paxton leads him with 51% to 34%, and Hunt leads him 52% to 29%.

The survey finds that even a hypothetical endorsement from President Donald Trump would not rescue the senator, with Paxton still leading a Trump-backed Cornyn 44% to 41%.

By contrast, a Trump endorsement for Hunt would drastically reshape the race. In that scenario, Hunt would defeat Paxton 51% to 31%, consolidating pro-Trump voters while also attracting supporters of Paxton and Cornyn.

Researchers say the information environment is working decisively against Cornyn.

"Forty-seven percent of voters say what they've seen recently about Cornyn made them less favorable," the survey reports.

Meanwhile, 31% say recent exposure to Hunt made them more favorable, despite sustained negative advertising against him from pro-Cornyn groups. Pollsters warn that Cornyn's position "has moved past the point of recovery," leaving him as "a spoiler" whose continued presence in the race primarily benefits Paxton.

The Hunt for Senate campaign is using the latest polling as a sign that the incumbent Senator should drop out of the race.

In June, The Wall Street Journal published an article regarding the race, and Senator Cornyn suggested that he would "step aside" if it resulted in defeating Paxton.

"I refuse to let someone of [Paxton's] character -- or lack of character -- represent Texas in the Senate," Senator Cornyn said. He added that he would be "...willing to step aside for the right candidate to defeat Ken Paxton..."