Ted Cruz Sees Lead Expand Despite Dem. Efforts to Snipe His Seat
Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz is expanding his lead over Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke ahead of the midterm elections in November, according to a new poll Quinnipiac University published Wednesday.
Cruz has captured an 11-point lead over O’Rourke, who trailed Cruz by less than three points in April.
The survey shows 50 percent of Texans backed Cruz, while 39 percent supported O’Rourke in the coming U.S. Senate race.
Ted Cruz up 50-39 over Beto O’Rourke in latest Quinnipiac poll, a sharp uptick from his three-point lead in same poll from April #txsen
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) May 30, 2018
Cruz is nearly universally known within the state, with 49 percent of those surveyed viewing him positively while 38 percent viewed him unfavorably, the poll noted.
The Quinnipiac survey was conducted May 23-29 and had a 3.8 percent margin of error. Nearly 1,000 people across Texas were surveyed.
O’Rourke is still a relative unknown, according to the poll.
#TedCruz Opens Lead Over #BetoORourke In #TexasSenate Race, Poll Finds; In 2018 #TexasGovernor Race, #GregAbbott Tops #LupeValdez By 19 Points https://t.co/D7l66avHMA
— Quinnipiac University Poll (@QuinnipiacPoll) May 30, 2018
Just 30 percent of Texans had a positive view of O’Rourke, while 19 percent had a negative impression of him.
Meanwhile, 50 percent of those surveyed said they had never heard of him.
A Quinnipiac poll from April showed Cruz was barely edging out O’Rourke — 47 percent to 44 percent.
Republicans outperformed Democrats during Texas’ primary elections. Democratic turnout during the primary was up 84 percent from four years ago, but Republicans added to their record numbers from 2014, according to data from the secretary of state’s office.
GOP turnout was the highest since the 2010 midterm.
Republicans easily power-armed Democrats at the polls — 1.54 million to 1.04 million — suggesting O’Rourke and Lupe Valdez, who is running to unseat Gov. Greg Abbott, could face stiff winds come November.
The latest Quinnipiac poll showed Republican Gov. Greg Abbott leading Valdez, 53 percent to 34 percent.
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