Sen. Ted Cruz is barely hanging on to a 3-point lead over Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke in a Texas Senate contest that is quickly becoming one of the most watched races in the 2018 elections.
According to a new Quinnipiac poll, Cruz, R-Texas, holds a 3-point lead (47 percent-44 percent) over his Democratic challenger, who is being buoyed by a wave of independent support. That’s within the 3.6 percentage point margin of error.
O’Rourke leads 51 percent-37 percent among independents over the incumbent Republican, and is likely benefiting from the poor job approval numbers for President Trump.
While Texas is a deep red state, 52 percent of respondents disapprove of the president’s job, compared with 43 percent approval 15 months into the president’s term. Independent voters also sharply disapprove of Trump, with 64 percent doing so compared with only 28 percent who approve.
“Democrats have had a target on Sen. Ted Cruz’s back, and they may be hitting the mark. Once expected to ‘cruise’ to reelection, the incumbent is in a tight race with Democratic U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac Poll.
“Texas remains a strong GOP state so O’Rourke will need the independent strength to pull the upset,” Brown said.
While the race is still viewed as an uphill climb for O’Rourke, he has been raising oodles of money to keep him in the race against the 2016 Republican primary runner-up. O’Rourke raised $6.7 million in the first three months of 2018, more than doubling up the $3.2 million Cruz raised. Cruz also has over $8 million in the bank for his re-election efforts.
