A new poll shows Sen. Ted Cruz and former President Donald Trump leading their Democrat challengers in Texas.
The Marist Poll surveyed 1,186 likely voters in Texas between October 3 through October 7. Among the likely voters, 51 percent say they support Cruz, whereas 46 percent say they support his Democrat challenger and current U.S. Rep. Colin Allred.
However, Allred does lead Cruz 51 percent to 46 percent among Independent voters.
Cruz’ favorability is split among Texas residents with 46 percent viewing him favorably and 46 percent saying they have an unfavorable opinion of him.
Texas residents have a 39 percent favorable opinion of Allred, whereas 36 percent have an unfavorable impression of him. Twenty-five percent said they had either never heard of him or were unsure of how to rate him.
In the presidential race, Trump currently leads his Democrat challenger, current Vice President Kamala Harris, by eight points—53 percent to 46 percent—among Texas likely voters.
Among Texas Independents, 50 percent say they support Trump, whereas 48 percent say they support Harris. According to a 2020 Presidential Exit Poll, President Joe Biden carried Independents by six points.
Texas voters said that preserving democracy is the most pressing issue for them when voting in November (26 percent). Twenty-five percent report inflation is a key factor, 21 percent say immigration, and 12 percent say abortion is a top issue.
In another poll conducted by Mainstreet Research and Florida Atlantic University, 811 registered Texas voters were surveyed between October 2 through October 6. That poll found that Cruz only led Allred by three points—46 percent to 43 percent.
The same poll found that Trump leads Harris 50 percent to 45 percent.
The Marist poll has a margin of error of +/- 3.3 percentage points among registered voters and +/- 3.6 percentage points among likely voters.
Early voting runs between October 21 through November 1.
Election Day is Tuesday, November 5.
