In the middle of two recent headlines in Texas – the mass shooting of children at a school in Uvalde, Texas and a lack of clean, potable water during one of the country’s most dangerous heat waves – it is understandable that Texans may be reconsidering their options in the November 2022 governor’s race. Republican Greg Abbott has racked up few points with any Texas who is not a far right-wing voter with policies against trans people, books, and common sense gun law reform, while Democrat Beto O’Rourke remains a popular figure in Texas politics. No other Democrat has come as close to winning in Texas than O’Rourke when he ran against the highly unpopular Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), and his path to victory in the governor’s race looks to be shaping up similarly, but with the possibility of winning.
A new Quinnipiac poll released on Thursday shows Abbott’s lead over O’Rourke, which was expected to hold, is slipping in the wake of the shooting in Uvalde. While Abbott held a commanding lead of 52-37 over O’Rourke in December, the new poll shows the race is tightening, with Abbott receiving 48 percent of the vote and O’Rourke receiving 43 percent.
A number of different factors are influencing the vote demographically. The poll found that voters are split by gender, race, age, and ethnicity.
‘There are also big differences by gender, race, and age. Abbott wins the support of men 59 – 33 percent, while O’Rourke wins the support of women 52 – 38 percent. Abbott wins the support of white voters 63 – 30 percent, while O’Rourke wins the support of Black voters 73 – 11 percent and Hispanic voters 50 – 41 percent. O’Rourke leads among voters 18 – 34 years old (56 – 35 percent), while Abbott leads among voters 35 – 49 years old (50 – 38 percent) and voters 50 – 64 years old (57 – 37 percent). Among voters 65 years of age and over, Abbott receives 50 percent, while O’Rourke receives 45 percent.’
Twitter was hopeful about the news that Beto is inching closer to a potential win in Texas. Read some of their comments below:
