Gov. Greg Abbott leads Beto O’Rourke by 5 percentage points in new poll

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Gov. Greg Abbott leads his Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke by 5 percentage points, in response to a new poll from the Texas Politics Project on the University of Texas at Austin.

The survey discovered that Abbott obtained 45% of help amongst registered voters, whereas 40% supported O’Rourke and 4% supported third-party candidates. Three p.c of respondents named “Someone else” as their selection, and eight% stated they haven’t thought concerning the race sufficient to have an opinion.

The result’s nearly an identical to the margin from when the pollsters final surveyed the race in June, discovering Abbott forward of O’Rourke 45% to 39%.

The newest survey additionally gave Republican incumbents single-digit leads in two different statewide races. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick led Democrat Mike Collier by 7 points, and Attorney General Ken Paxton registered a 5-point benefit over Democrat Rochelle Garza. More voters stay undecided in these contests than in the gubernatorial election — 20% in the lieutenant governor’s race and 21% in the lawyer normal one.

Abbott is looking for a 3rd time period in opposition to O’Rourke, the previous El Paso congressman who had a near-miss loss to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018. Forty-six p.c of respondents approve of the job Abbott is doing whereas 44% disapprove, in response to the poll. It marks an enchancment over the June poll, when Abbott’s approval score was the other way up, with 43% approving and 46% disapproving.

When it involves points, the poll confirmed voters proceed to prioritize the border. “Immigration/border security” led the listing of points that voters stated had been most most vital to their vote in the election, with 26% selecting it. It was adopted by the state financial system (13%), abortion (12%) and gun violence (11%).

Voters stated they trusted Abbott extra on the border and financial system and O’Rourke extra on abortion. They had been equally divided on who had the benefit on gun violence.

O’Rourke has campaigned closely in opposition to Abbott on abortion, highlighting that Abbott signed the “trigger law” that has banned nearly all abortions in Texas following the U.S. Supreme Court resolution overturning Roe v. Wade. Voters registered clear disapproval with the post-Roe panorama in Texas, with 50% saying they help “expand[ing] legal access to abortion services” in the state now versus 31% who disapproved of that concept. And by a virtually 2-to-1 margin, voters stated the state mustn’t dedicate extra sources to implementing its abortion ban.

O’Rourke has additionally been extremely crucial of Abbott’s refusal to help any new gun restrictions following the Uvalde college capturing. The poll discovered voters proceed to need stricter gun legal guidelines, with 54% saying they need to be extra strict and 23% saying they need to be left as is.

Abbott’s greatest benefit stays the border. By a 12-point margin, voters stated they trusted him to do a greater job on “immigration/border security” than O’Rourke. And 51% stated they help Abbott’s program to bus migrants to different components of the nation that has captured headlines lately. Thirty-five p.c opposed the initiative.

President Joe Biden stays unpopular in Texas, although not as a lot as he was earlier in the summer time. The newest poll discovered Biden has a internet approval score of unfavorable 12 points in Texas, a determine that was unfavorable 20 in June.

The poll of 1,200 registered voters was performed on-line from Aug. 28 to Sept. 6. The margin of error was +/- 2.83 points.

Disclosure: The University of Texas at Austin has been a monetary supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news group that’s funded in half by donations from members, foundations and company sponsors. Financial supporters play no function in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a whole list of them here.

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