The US Election Campaign

No one wants to take the blame for the defeats in Texas – Trump blames Cornyn

No one wants to shoulder the blame for the Republicans' setbacks in the state of Texas, reports *The Hill*. Ken Paxton, the Republican candidate in the midterm elections, has faced a steady stream of negative headlines and declining poll numbers throughout his campaign.

Last Thursday, President Donald Trump accused incumbent Republican Senator John Cornyn and political strategist Karl Rove of deliberately trying to undermine Paxton’s campaign.

Cornyn has refrained from campaigning alongside Paxton following his own primary election defeat. His former campaign manager, Brendan Steinhauser, says the accusation is an attempt by Trump to avoid taking the blame himself should the Republicans lose Texas.

“If Senator Cornyn had that much political power and influence, he would have made sure to get re-elected,” Steinhauser counters.

Record-low approval for Trump in several polls

With only two weeks left until the midterm elections, the outlook appears bleak for the Republicans. President Donald Trump’s popularity has fallen to a new low, according to a poll conducted by *The Washington Post*, ABC News, and Ipsos. 72 percent of respondents believe the country is heading in the wrong direction under Trump’s leadership.

These findings are corroborated by a separate survey from NBC News. Voters cite corruption and rising living costs as two primary reasons for their low level of trust in the politicians currently in power.

At the same time, support for the Democrats appears to be growing. For the first time in over a decade, there is greater confidence in the Democrats' economic policies than in those of the Republicans, reports The Washington Post.