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Wesley Hunt’s Texas Senate campaign helps John Cornyn, poll finds

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For Texas Sen. John Cornyn, the more the merrier.

Despite the entry of Rep. Wesley Hunt into Texas’s ferocious GOP Senate primary, a new poll from a pro-Cornyn super PAC obtained by Blue Light News shows the four-term incumbent Republican in the lead.

The poll was conducted by Texans for a Conservative Majority in the days immediately prior to Hunt announcing that he would turn the Senate between Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton into a three-way contest.

It shows Cornyn with the support of 33 percent of Texas Republican primary voters, followed by Paxton at 28 percent and Hunt at 21 percent. Still undecided are 18 percent of primary voters.

Hunt’s entry into the race cannibalizes Paxton’s support, according to the poll. When Hunt voters are forced to choose between the two, 48 percent would be willing to back the Texas attorney general, while 24 percent would opt to support Cornyn.

Public polling has also shown a tight three-way race. A recent poll from the University of Houston and Texas Southern University has shown Paxton and Cornyn virtually tied with a third of the vote each, with Hunt trailing at 22 percent.

A simple plurality though isn’t good enough for Cornyn. Texas has a primary runoff system, which would mean a second round of voting in late May 2026 if no candidate earns an outright majority in the March 3 primary.

Cornyn has steadily improved his standing in public and private polls in recent months on the basis of a major television advertising effort on his behalf.A private poll in May had Cornyn down nearly 20 points in a head-to-head matchup against Paxton but he has steadily closed the gap since.

The new poll shows Paxton’s job approval among Republicans falling as the controversial attorney general faces attacks over a host of ethics issues which culminated in a failed 2023 impeachment attempt against him.

The pro-Cornyn poll was conducted by Deep Root Analytics from Sept. 22 to Sept. 28 among 1,142 Texas Republicans likely to vote in the primary.

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Congress

John Thune says he’s aiming to land DHS deal Thursday

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he wants to clinch a bipartisan Department of Homeland Security funding agreement Thursday.

“I think the Dems are now in possession of what I think is our last and final” offer, Thune told reporters. “So let’s hope this gets it done.”

“We’re going to know soon,” he added.

The South Dakota Republican declined to discuss details of the offer but suggested it was similar to where the discussions were headed over the weekend. GOP senators then were looking at a bipartisan deal that would fund most of DHS but leave out funding for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations.

That offer was rejected by Democrats. But two people granted anonymity to discuss the revised proposal said it, too, omitted only ERO money but included additional language to try to address some of Democrats’ concerns.

Spokespeople for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Senate is expected to vote again on the House-passed DHS bill Thursday afternoon. The House is also voting again on DHS funding Thursday and is planning to leave town Friday morning for a two-week holiday recess. Progress in the Senate could prompt House GOP leaders to stay in session in hopes of sending a bill to President Donald Trump.

Asked about the Senate vote, Thune said he hoped there would be “some finality in this real soon.”

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Collins meets the Problem Solvers

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Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins joined the House Problem Solvers Caucus lunch Thursday to talk about the stalled Homeland Security funding effort and proposals to overhaul federal immigration enforcement activities.

“I think everyone is pretty frustrated at this point,” the Maine Republican said in an interview after the bipartisan meeting.

The centrist group, which extended the invitation to Collins, talked through the pain points on finding a path out of the DHS shutdown that has stretched more than 40 days and is triggering massive air travel disruptions. The conversation comes ahead of a House vote later Thursday on funding DHS, where moderates are looking to break the impasse.

Meredith Lee Hill, Jordain Carney and Riley Rogerson contributed to this report.

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Brian Fitzpatrick delivers a warning on GOP reconciliation redo

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As House Republicans start to dream big about another party-line bill, one key member who voted down the last GOP reconciliation bill is warning his colleagues not to count on his support.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) referenced his vote last summer against the “big, beautiful bill” in an interview Thursday and suggested he was prepared to oppose another GOP-only bill if it, too, includes spending cuts he opposes to social programs.

“You saw what I did on the first reconciliation bill,” Fitzpatrick said. Fitzpatrick and just one more House Republican could be enough to tank a party-line package given Speaker Mike Johnson’s slim majority.

Still, many of Fitzpatrick’s colleagues are making plans for an expansive new GOP-only bill that would include more money for Homeland Security operations, Iran war funding and other cost-of-living priorities, while demanding it be fully offset with spending cuts — possibly from social programs targeted for “fraud prevention.”

“You never say ‘never’ at anything, but I’m never a fan of single-party bills,” Fitzpatrick said. “That’s just my approach to government.”

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