Abbott holds 10-point lead over O’Rourke in Texas: poll

Gov. Greg Abbott (R) holds a 10-percentage point lead over Democrat Beto O’Rourke in the Texas gubernatorial race, according to a new survey from Emerson College Polling-The Hill released Monday.

The poll showed Abbott receiving 52 percent of support among very likely general election voters in the state, compared to O’Rourke with 42 percent. A separate 4 percent said they were undecided.

When respondents who said they were undecided were asked who they were leaning toward, 42 percent said O’Rourke, while another 31 percent said the governor. A separate 20 percent said they were leaning toward Green Party candidate Delilah Barrios while 7 percent said Libertarian candidate Mark Tippetts.

The poll also found that more respondents held a favorable view of Abbott (55 percent) compared to the former congressman (45 percent).

Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, noted that the governor held an edge among male voters while O’Rourke held a slimmer lead among women.

“Abbott has a commanding 23-point lead among male voters, whereas O’Rourke holds a three-point lead among women voters,” he said.

Abbott’s polling is aided by the fact that Republicans’ preferred issue is seen as the most important issue among voters in determining their vote — the economy, which was noted by 45 percent of respondents. Health care and abortion access were tied for the second most important issue at 11 percent, followed by threats to democracy at 10 percent.

The November midterms are less than three weeks away, and the Texas governors’ race has emerged as one of the most closely watched races this cycle. While O’Rourke is looking to unseat the two-term incumbent, polling shows an uphill battle for the Democrat in the reliably red state.

The Emerson College Polling-The Hill survey was conducted Oct. 17-19 with 1,000 very likely general election voters polled. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.