Abbott leading O’Rourke by 6 points in Texas governor’s race: poll

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is leading his Democratic gubernatorial challenger, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, by 6 percentage points, according to a new poll released Wednesday. 

A University of Texas-Texas Politics Project Poll found that 45 percent of Texas registered voters surveyed would vote for Abbott if the election were held that day, compared to 39 percent who would vote for O’Rourke.

A separate 10 percent said they had not thought about it enough to have an opinion, while another 3 percent said they would choose someone else.

Broken down by party, the candidates are the overwhelming favorite within their respective party. Eighty-seven percent of Democrats polled said they would vote for O’Rourke if the election were held that day, while 84 percent of Republicans said they would back Abbott.

Meanwhile, 33 percent of independents said they would back Abbott compared to 22 percent who would vote for O’Rourke.

The poll is on trend with another that was released last week in which Abbott had the advantage.

That survey, a CBS News-YouGov Texas poll, showed 49 percent of Texas respondents would vote for the governor compared to 41 percent who said they would support O’Rourke.

O’Rourke, a former Senate and presidential hopeful, is seeking to take on Abbott this November.

Cook Political Report rates the race as “likely Republican,” and Abbott has an incumbency advantage after serving two terms as governor in addition to running in a historically red state. 

The University of Texas-Texas Politics Project Poll was conducted between June 16 and June 24, with 1,200 Texas registered voters surveyed. The margin of error for the registered voter sample is plus or minus 2.83 percentage points.