Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott continues to maintain a single-digit lead over Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke about two months before the November election.
The newest University of Houston-Texas Southern University poll on August 28 showed Abbott leading O’Rourke by seven points, 49 percent to 42 percent. About 7 percent of voters remain undecided while 1 percent are predicted to vote for Libertarian Party and Green Party candidates.
Of the likely 1,312 voters surveyed, 1,012 said they were “almost certain” to vote. Abbott’s support among those more likely to vote increased his lead over O’Rourke to 12 percent, with 5 percent undecided.
Abbott’s biggest voting blocs are white and male voters, in which he leads by 29 percent and 18 percent, respectively. O’Rourke leads in Black and Hispanic support, by 57 percent and 15 percent, respectively.
The candidates are tied with female voters at 45 percent.
A generational gap is also evident, with older voters supporting Abbott.
Baby boomers and those part of the Silent Generation favored Abbott by a 28-percent margin, and Generation X favored him by 11 points. O’Rourke’s support comes from millennials and Generation Z, who favored him by 21 and 23 percent, respectively.
Abbott, who was elected in 2015 following 13 years as the state’s attorney general, has led in every poll since June 23. His smallest lead has been four points and largest eight, according to FiveThirtyEight polling averages.
His platform centers on a Bicentennial Blueprint that aims to build on his first two terms. That includes economic growth as part of a Working Texans plan that pledges to rein in spending, as well as protecting religious liberty, defending the Second Amendment, and securing the border to “fight drug cartels and human traffickers.”
Abbott was recently criticized by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and New York City Mayor Eric Adams for his sending of dozens of migrants to their cities. Abbott fired back, saying his state’s actions was a byproduct of President Joe Biden’s immigration policies.
Earlier this year, Abbott was criticized for praising the “courage” of the Uvalde Police Department, which was later discovered to have been lax in its response to an active shooter that resulted in 19 students and two teachers killed at Robb Elementary School on May 24.
O’Rourke is a gun safety advocate who called out Abbott during a press conference following the Uvalde massacre.
O’Rourke has also been vocal about reproductive rights in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court‘s decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, including after Abbott recently said victims of rape or incest can take Plan B pills to prevent pregnancy.
Newsweek reached out to both campaigns for comment.
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