DALLAS — As Incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz and his Democrat challenger Colin Allred prepare to face off in their only debate in their U.S. Senate race on WFAA on Tuesday, a new poll shows Cruz increasing his lead.
Early voting in the Nov. 5 general election, including the Texas Senate race between Allred and Cruz begins next week on Oct. 21 and runs until Nov. 1. Here’s our guide to what to know for early voting.
The latest survey by the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston showed Cruz leading Allred 50% to 46%.
The online statewide survey was conducted between Sept. 26 and Oct. 10.
Cruz is viewed favorably by a slightly higher proportion of likely voters than Allred (50% to 46%), but is also viewed unfavorably by a higher proportion of likely voters than Allred (48% vs. 42%), according to the poll.
The poll showed Cruz with a 15 percentage-point lead over Allred among men (56% to 41%) and Allred with a 7 percentage-point lead over Cruz among women (51% to 44%). Allred and Cruz are deadlocked among likely Latino voters (51% to 44%), according to the poll.
In the presidential race, the new survey showed former President Donald Trump leading Vice President Kamala Harris in Texas 50% to 44.7%.
Trump and Harris are in a head heat among Latino voters, 48% to 47%, respectively.
Trump and Harris have relatively equal proportions of likely voters with a favorable (50% and 49%) and unfavorable (50% and 51%) evaluation of them, with Trump having a slightly higher proportion of likely voters with a very favorable opinion of him (38% to 34%).
Polls have consistently shown Cruz with a slight lead in the Senate race throughout the campaign.
A previous survey from the Hobby School of Public Affairs and Texas Southern University’s Barbara Jordan – Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs conducted between June 20 and July 1 (with a second wave conducted between Aug. 5 and Aug.16) showed 46.6% of likely Texas voters saying they intend to vote for Cruz, compared to 44.5% who said they’d vote for Allred.
Another previous poll of likely voters from the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation released Sept. 23 showed Cruz with 48% support to Allred’s 45%.
That survey showed likely Texas voters have strong opinions of Cruz with 50% of respondents who said they view him unfavorably and 47% view him favorably.
For Allred, 41% of likely voters said they have a favorable opinion of him, while 29% view him unfavorably.
That poll also showed men are more likely to vote for Cruz. Fifty-two percent of men likely Texas voters said they'd vote for Cruz, compared to 39% who said they intend to vote for Allred, according to that survey. Allred had a lead with women voters then, too, though. Forty-nine percent of women likely Texas voters said they'd vote for Allred, compared to 42% who intend to vote for Cruz.