Trump, Biden neck and neck in Texas: poll

Democratic nominee Joe Biden and President Trump are running neck and neck in Texas less than a week before Election Day, according a new poll released by UMass Lowell Center for Public Opinion. 

According to the poll released Thursday, the president garnered 48 percent support from likely voters and Biden garnered 47 percent support — results that fall well within the survey’s 4.3-point margin of error.

The results show a 2-point increase for the former vice president. Trump led Biden by 3 points in the same survey taken last month. 

The news comes just one day after the Cook Political Report moved the presidential race in Texas from “lean Republican” to “toss-up,” an indication that the Lone Star State, which has broken reliably toward Republicans for years, is in play for Biden this election cycle. 

The results also come in the lead-up to what has proven to be high-stakes election year, where millions of voters have already turned in their ballots via mail or voted early.

Texas has also seen a massive voter turnout already, according to the survey. The amount of people who have voted early this year account for 94 percent of the overall turnout recorded in 2016.

Among those who responded, 60 percent said they had already voted. Fifty-two percent of early voters said they voted for Biden, and 46 of early voters cast their ballot for Trump. However, Trump led among those who said they plan to vote but hadn’t yet 64 percent to 30 percent.

“Democrats have been dreaming of a Blue Texas for longer than most Texans have been alive,” said John Cluverius, associate director of the UMass Lowell Center for Public Opinion. “This is the clearest sign that Democrats are close, but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, not elections. Democrats have probably surged almost all the votes they can get out of the Lone Star State; the question is whether Republicans will be motivated enough to turn out on Election Day.”

Texas is one of several states where Biden and Trump are in close competition. For the past two months, the two candidates have been tied in the polls in Georgia, a state that has gone red for the past six elections.

Biden also holds narrow leads over Trump in Arizona and North Carolina, two states that he won during the 2016 election against former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.