A new survey of Texas Republican primary voters finds Picasso-faced Attorney General Ken Paxton leading incumbent Senator John Cornhole Cornyn in a head-to-head matchup of next year’s primary by 56 to 40 percent, Punchbowl News reports on a brutal finding made even worse by the fact that the polling was commissioned by the Senate Leadership Fund, the McConnell-Thune PAC that works for establishment GOP members in the chamber, which could be why Cornyn went and posted that transparently desperate pic of himself in front of stupid “Trump Burger” in Houston on Saturday.

The same survey also found Cornyn trailing in a three-way with MAGA Congressman Wesley Hunt, who hasn’t launched a campaign yet but is reportedly considering it seriously enough for the SLF to include him too, with Paxton at 44 percent, Cornyn at 34, and Hunt in third at 19 percent… which if it were the actual primary election would just drag things out and cost even more money as it would lead to a runoff between Paxton and Cornyn that would put them in the exact same place.

Then there’s the general that SLF also surveyed: Cornyn leads 2024 Dem loser former Congressman Collin Allred – also yet to declare his intent – by 6 percent while Allred leads Paxton by 1 percent. Make of that what you will as it could be that a pro-Cornyn pollster is just trying to sandbag Paxton.

Punchbowl’s reporter does not seem to think so, writing “Those results underscore a real fear for Republicans – that Paxton, a MAGA loyalist who has faced a slew of legal troubles, is best positioned to win a primary but could struggle in a general election.” Even if that’s an exaggeration, at the very least a Paxton primary win would suck money and resources away from elsewhere on the map.

Punchbowl also includes some pretty freaking funny spin from the SLF about their own goddamned polling numbers: “The numbers don’t lie – John Cornyn is in a far better early position than Ken Paxton. Texans only need one quick look at Paxton’s record before his support plummets, and it’s clear he would risk delivering the Senate majority to Chuck Schumer.” Jesus Christ, lol.