Abbott leading O’Rourke by 5 points in Texas governor’s race: poll

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is leading Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke in the Texas gubernatorial race by 5 percentage points, according to a poll released Tuesday. 

The poll from the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs shows Abbott leading O’Rourke 49 percent to 44 percent among likely voters, with 5 percent undecided and 2 percent supporting the Libertarian candidate Mark Tippetts. 

The vast majority of voters said they were certain who they would be voting for in November, with only 5 percent of Abbott supporters and 8 percent of O’Rourke supporters saying they would consider changing their choice. 

Abbott leads O’Rourke among white voters, 60 percent to 33 percent, while O’Rourke leads among Black voters, 80 percent to 8 percent. O’Rourke has a 9-point lead among Latino voters, 51 percent to 42 percent. 

Most voters rated inflation and public safety as the issues most important in making a choice in the gubernatorial race, followed closely behind by government spending and taxes, economic growth and health care costs. 

The poll states that Abbott is viewed favorably by 49 percent of registered voters and unfavorably by 47 percent, while O’Rourke is viewed favorably by 44 percent and unfavorably by 49 percent. 

A University of Texas-Texas Politics Project poll released earlier this month found Abbott leading O’Rourke by 6 points. 

The Tuesday poll was conducted from June 27 to July 7 among 1,169 YouGov respondents. The margin of error was 2.9 percentage points.