Texas Governor Greg Abbott got some welcome news on Thursday in his reelection bid after two recent polls showed his Democratic challenger narrowly ahead. A UMass Lowell/YouGov survey of 850 likely Texas voters found Abbott leading Democratic state Representative Gina Hinojosa 48 percent to 44 percent. Six percent were undecided, and 1 percent backed Libertarian Pat Dixon.
The poll was conducted September 18-28 and carries an adjusted margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points, so Abbott’s lead is within the margin. The result follows two polls that gave Hinojosa the edge. A New York Times/Siena College poll released Saturday had her ahead by 3 points, which was within that poll’s margin of error.
A separate YouGov survey of 3,622 likely voters, fielded September 28-October 5, put Hinojosa up 48 percent to 47 percent. UMass Lowell finished its fieldwork before either of those polls did. Newsweek reached out to the Abbott and Hinojosa campaigns for comment Thursday.
Eduardo Leal, a spokesperson for the Abbott campaign, told Newsweek in an email on Thursday: "We don't comment on polls, but we know that Governor Abbott's vision will beat high-tax Hinojosa." The UMass Lowell poll found Texas’ U.S. Democratic state Representative James Talarico and Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton each drew 45 percent, with 7 percent undecided. Abbott does better than Paxton with the voters likely to settle both races.
He wins 26 percent of independents, compared with 18 percent for Paxton. Among Texans who backed a third-party candidate or skipped the 2024 presidential election, Abbott takes 35 percent and Paxton's 26 percent. His supporters also appear settled.
Ninety-five percent of Abbott voters said they would definitely vote for him, compared with 93 percent of Hinojosa’s backers. Senate race in Texas [Lloyd Bentsen in 1988], Ken Paxton didn’t yet have a law degree and James Talarico wasn’t even born," said John Cluverius, director of survey research for UMass Lowell’s Center for Public Opinion. "With the race tied, anything can happen between now and the election.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
