Cruz up 11 points in Texas Senate race: poll

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) leads his Democratic challenger, Rep. Beto O’Rourke, by 11 points in a new Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday.

Fifty percent of Texas voters that responded to the poll back Cruz, while only 39 percent say they support O’Rourke in the Texas Senate race.

It is a dramatic shift from Quinnipiac’s April 18 survey, which found the race too close to call with Cruz at 47 percent and O’Rourke at 44 percent, within the margin of error.

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According to Quinnipiac, Cruz got a big boost in support from men. Cruz currently leads O’Rourke, 57 percent to 35 percent, among men. On April 18, he led O’Rourke 51-40.

Cruz’s improved figures can also be partly attributed to a “nationwide Republican mini-move,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of Quinnipiac University Poll.

“President Donald Trump’s Texas numbers also have climbed during those six weeks moving from a nine-point deficit on job approval to an even split today. It is hard not to see a pro-Cruz effect there,” Brown added.

O’Rourke’s lead among independents also shrunk from 51 percent in April to 43 percent in the latest poll.

O’Rourke’s edge among Hispanic voters has disappeared, with Cruz now leading 46 to 44 among that demographic, which is within the poll’s margin of error. In April, O’Rourke led Cruz 51 to 33 among Hispanic voters.

Earlier this month a poll from JMC Analytics found that Cruz was leading O’Rourke by 7 points.

O’Rouke is still reporting higher fundraising figures than Cruz, despite refusing to accept campaign donations from political action committees.

Republicans, however, still expect Cruz to win in Texas, which is a longtime Republican stronghold.