Democratic candidate James Talarico leads Republican Ken Paxton by 4 percentage points in the race for a U.S. Senate seat from Texas, according to the latest Texas Public Opinion Research (TPOR) poll, released Friday, Oct. 23. Talarico received 51% support and Paxton 47%. Libertarian Party candidate Ted Brown was chosen by 2% of respondents. Early voting is already underway in the state ahead of the midterm elections, which will be held Nov. 3.
Talarico’s lead has narrowed compared with previous surveys by the same pollster. In August, the Democrat led by 6 percentage points, in September by 5, and now by 4. Support for Ted Brown, meanwhile, fell by 1 percentage point from the previous month.
Talarico draws particularly strong support among independent voters. The Democrat was chosen by 66% of that group, while Paxton was backed by 28% and Brown by 6%. Talarico also leads among Black voters, with 87% to the Republican’s 11%. Among Latino voters, his lead is 60% to 39%. The Democratic candidate also has greater support among women, voters with a college education and voters under 55.
Ken Paxton, meanwhile, maintains an advantage among white voters, among whom he received 60% support to Talarico’s 38%. The Republican also leads among men, 50% to 47%, as well as among voters without a college education and voters over 55. As the authors of the survey note, men’s preferences have shifted since September. In the previous poll, Talarico led in that group, while in October Paxton gained a slight edge.
The Texas Public Opinion Research poll was conducted Oct. 15-18 among 969 likely voters in Texas. The margin of error is 3.9 percentage points.
Ed. JŁ
