John Who?

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee released a poll Monday, suggesting that a surprisingly high number of Texans don’t know who their junior senator is – and that he could be vulnerable to a challenge in 2008, reports Politico's Josh Kraushaar.

According to the poll, 41% of Texas voters said they had a “favorable opinion” of Cornyn, 16% said they had “unfavorable opinion” and 33 percent don’t recognize his name.  Forty-seven percent of voters said they would vote for Cornyn, while 38 percent said they would opt for a generic Democratic candidate.

“At the outset of his first re-election campaign, Cornyn has not solidified his position with the Texas electorate and faces a difficult political environment that makes him vulnerable to a challenge,” the DSCC memo reads.

The poll, conducted by Hamilton Beattie & Staff, surveyed 800 Texas voters between April 11-15.  It has a margin of error of 3.5 points.

Cornyn defeated Democrat Ron Kirk in 2002 by a 55 to 43 percent margin.