John Cornyn

Now that the dust has settled on the primary, recent polling has found most Republican voters have moved on and plan to vote for Paxton, with a clear shift from earlier surveys conducted in the heat of the bruising primary. Still, Talarico has held on to a chunk of support from moderate Republicans.

Calling into Gov. Greg Abbott's guest-hosted Hannity radio show, the Republican senator said Talarico is "charming" enough to win over voters "who may not be paying close attention to the issues."

The outgoing lawmakers have cast doubt on whether their respective primary opponents, Ken Paxton and James Talarico, can win in November.

Texas Republicans spread message of unity ahead of November midterms.

Paxton’s blowout win on Tuesday compelled an alliance by necessity, if not natural synergy, between the attorney general and the Washington groups that spent months trying to elect John Cornyn.

Texas voters decided party nominees for U.S. Senate, attorney general, and lieutenant governor, along with several congressional and local races.

John Cornyn is trying to fend off Ken Paxton. Both parties are picking attorney general nominees. And an oil and gas regulatory race has become uncharacteristically costly.

The incumbent senator and his allies have massively outspent the pro-Paxton side, though polling points to a tight finish in the May 26 election.

The Austin Democrat, who won his party's nomination in March, led Cornyn and Paxton by margins of 3 and 5 percentage points, respectively. Both results were within the survey's margin of error.

Both Republican candidates lagged far behind Democratic candidate James Talarico.