Ted Cruz leads Beto O'Rourke by 6 in Texas Senate race, UT/TT poll finds

[TexasTowelie]

By Ross Ramsey, Texas Tribune


Republican Ted Cruz leads Democrat Beto O’Rourke 51 percent to 45 percent in the Texas race for the U.S. Senate, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. Libertarian Neal Dikeman was the choice of 2 percent of likely voters and another 2 percent said they would vote for someone else.

Democratic and Republican voters, as might be expected, lined up strongly behind their respective party’s candidates. But independent voters, a group that often leans to the Republicans in statewide elections, broke for O’Rourke, 51 percent to Cruz’s 39 percent.

“The major Senate candidates were trying to mobilize their partisans, without a lot of attempt to get voters to cross over. And it looks like they’ve done that,” said Jim Henson, co-director of the poll and head of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin. “If you look for Republican defections to Beto O’Rourke, they’re not there. But the independents break to the Democrat instead of the Republican in that race.”

The poll of likely Texas voters was conducted before early voting in the general election began this week.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2018/10/26/ut-tt-poll-ted-cruz-leads-beto-orourke-texas-senate/

Additional results for other races on the ballot are also available at the link.

[riversedge]

1. golly, perhaps I am living in a bubble, as I thought Beto was doing better!!

[TexasTowelie]

2. The polling could be off.

There were a lot of new voter registrations that may not be getting into the sample since they aren't considered "likely voters".

Meanwhile, when any Republican asks me for directions to the polls, I deliberately send them on a wild goose chase.

[katmondoo]

5. I never answer the phone to a pollster

[riversedge]

6. you little trickster!

[DUgosh]

3. 30% of the voting machines

Are flipping straight dem tickets to Rafael from Beto. Republicans knew this ahead of time and planned those machines accordingly. Hence the polls. Gotta make Cruz win sound legit.

[beachbum bob]

4. the unknown is the hispanic/latin vote

IF and its a very big IF, they show up en mass, we will have countless surprises in Texas and elsewhere, No single demographic has as much at stake as this one and if they don't rise up for the challenge, will deserve what may be coming their way.