New poll shows Greg Abbott with a double-digit lead against Beto O’Rourke in Texas

Republican governor leads with women and suburban voters

A new poll shows that Republican Governor Greg Abbott holds an 11-point lead against Democrat Beto O’Rourke in Texas.

The Texas Politics Project surveyed 1,200 registered voters in Texas between 7 and 17 October. with a margin of error of 2.83 per cent. Within that pool, 883 were likely voters with a margin of error of 3.3 per cent.

The poll showed that 54 per cent of likely voters in Texas backed the incumbent Mr Abbott while 43 per cent supported Mr O’Rourke, a former congressman.

Voters overwhelmingly said that immigration and the security of the US-Mexico border was the most important issue when determining their vote, with 32 per cent of voters citing it, followed by 14 per cent who said the state’s economy. Only 13 per cent of voters cited abortion.

Mr Abbott has sought to make immigration a wedge issue between him and Mr O’Rourke, busing a number of migrants to Vice President Kamala Harris’s home in Washington, DC in protest of what he says are the Biden’s administration’s lax immigration policies.

The poll showed that Hispanic voters were evenly split between Mr Abbott and Mr O’Rourke, with 48 per cent each supporting both men. Mr Abbott leads with women, with 49 per cent supporting him; men, with 59 per cent; white/Anglo voters with 64 per cent; suburban voters with 54 per cent; and rural voters with 72 per cent.

The two engaged in their sole debate late last month. But Mr O’Rourke has struggled to break through despite raising a sizeable amount of money.