Talarico leads Paxton for Texas Senate while Hinojosa trails Abbott in governor’s race: Poll

Democrat James Talarico is leading Republican Ken Paxton in the Senate race in Texas, while Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is leading Democrat Gina Hinojosa in the gubernatorial race in the Lone Star State, according to a new poll from Texas Public Opinion Research .

In the poll , 47 percent of respondents said they would back Talarico if the election occurred that day, while 40 percent went for Paxton. Another 1 percent backed a Libertarian candidate, 11 percent were undecided and 1 percent rejected the idea of voting.

The poll also found Hinojosa 7 points behind Abbott among respondents who were asked which candidate they’d vote for if the election occurred that day, with the Democrat at 41 percent support to the Republican’s 48 percent. A Libertarian candidate garnered 1 percent support, while 8 percent of respondents were undecided and 1 percent rejected the idea of voting.

The two showdowns in the Lone Star State come as Democrats look to make key gains in the midterms amid rocky political territory for the GOP. Democrats have sought in recent years to notch electoral wins in Texas but haven’t had much success , as seen in races such as former Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s (D) challenge to Sen. Ted Cruz (R) in 2018.

Abbott is looking to secure a fourth term leading his state, which hasn’t elected a Democratic governor in more than a quarter of a century , so an upset by Hinojosa would be significant.

While Democrats usually have an uphill battle in the Lone Star State, Paxton comes with notable baggage. The Texas attorney general has been dogged by scandal, previously facing impeachment in the Texas House on corruption charges before being acquitted in the Texas Senate.

A few weeks ago, Talarico’s campaign confirmed it poached a former staffer for Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), whom Talarico and Paxton are racing to replace in November, to join the Democratic candidate on the campaign trail.

The Texas Public Opinion Research poll took place from Aug. 21 to 26, featuring 1,000 likely voters in Texas and a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points.