U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, leads U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke by 5 percentage points, according to a new poll from Quinnipiac University heading into the home stretch of their election.
The poll, released Monday with eight days before Election Day, indicated that 51 percent of likely voters favor Cruz and 46 percent favor O’Rourke. Only 3 percent are undecided.
Early voting is continuing across the state with record numbers that are providing both campaigns with optimism heading into voting.
Both candidates will make an appearance in the Corpus Christi area before the election.
O’Rourke will appear at the Richard M. Borchard Regional Fairgrounds in Robstown on Thursday, beginning at 9 a.m. The appearance will take place in Ballroom B of the Conference Center. Doors will open for the appearance at 8:30 a.m.
Cruz will be in Corpus Christi at a campaign rally inside the American Bank Center’s Henry Garrett Ballroom on Saturday, the Nueces County Republican Party reports. The rally begins at 8 p.m.
Both events will be free and open to the public. The Cruz campaign is asking interested potential spectators to register for tickets available through its Facebook page. More information will be coming about the event, which still has not been posted at the candidate’s Facebook page.
Cruz has maintained a lead throughout the entire campaign. But O’Rourke has cut into the lead in recent weeks, giving his supporters hope that he could record a rare victory for the Democrats in a statewide race.
Quinnipac’s most recent poll, released Oct. 11, indicated that Cruz was leading by 9 percentage points. And a University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll released last week found a margin of 6 ponts.
“With a week to go, Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz remains in front, with a slim lead over U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke. O’Rourke is within striking distance, but time is running out in a race that Democrats have hoped would deliver an upset victory that would be key to a Senate takeover,” Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, said in a news release.
Early voting in Texas is well underway, with numbers at historic levels providing both campaigns with hope.
Nearly all polling of the unusually competitive U.S. Senate race in Texas has found Cruz leading. A University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll released last week found a similar margin of 6 points. Quinnipiac’s last poll of the race, released Oct. 11, found Cruz leading by 9 percentage points.
The most recent poll was conducted Oct. 22 through 28, surveying 1,078 voters with a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.
In a similar poll, incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott has a strong lead over Democratic challenger Lupe Valdez, a former Dallas County sheriff. Abbott has a 54-40 percent in the latest poll over Valdez.
