Democrat lags in Texas Senate race

Washington Examiner:
Democrats had big hopes for Texas, but the party's Senate candidate lags behind longtime Republican incumbent John Cornyn six weeks before Election Day.
MJ Hegar, a U.S. Air Force veteran and teacher, has closed the double-digit gap between her and Cornyn. Yet she continues to trail the senator, first elected in 2002, by an average of 8.3 percentage points, according to RealClearPolitics.
Democrats were optimistic early in the cycle that demographic shifts and a hard-fought presidential race in Texas would help their picks up and down the ballot, particularly after then-Rep. Beto O'Rourke's surprisingly strong Senate bid in 2018. While those factors may still influence House contests on the ticket this fall, they don't seem to be elevating Hegar.
For Republican strategist Derek Ryan, Hegar is struggling given her low name recognition. In comparison, Cornyn was the state's attorney general and a judge. That wasn't all Hegar's doing, Ryan said. Hegar, who unsuccessfully vied for Texas's 31st Congressional District north of Austin in 2018, was delayed in introducing herself to the broader electorate because her primary runoff was pushed to July.
...
"About 20 different TV media markets across the state makes it hard for Hegar to get her name out there to potential voters. Running TV in Texas is very expensive," Ryan said.
To that end, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee promised this summer that it would make a “seven-figure coordinated investment” in Texas but is yet to reserve any airtime in the state. Hegar's camp, though, has made an initial $1.5 million TV buy in Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, El Paso, and Harlingen, reaching 80% of voters in those population centers.
DSCC spokeswoman Helen Kalla said the cash injection would cover ads, polling, field organizing, and data support. She added Cornyn, McConnell's "top lieutenant," is "deeply vulnerable" against the decorated combat veteran and mom.
"Cornyn’s weak approval ratings show Texans are tired of him putting his corporate special interest pals over Texas’s working families and are ready to give him the boot," she told the Washington Examiner.
...
Hegar has been virtually invisible as a candidate to many Texans.  I have been polled several times on this race and others in Texas and I get the impression that few people could name Cornyn's opponent.

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