Poll: Greg Abbott Leads Beto O’Rourke in Gubernatorial Potential Matchup

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) holds a seven-point lead over potential Democrat challenger Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke, a Dallas Morning News/University of Texas at Tyler survey released this month found.

The survey asked, “In a race for Governor would you vote for Governor Abbott, Beto O’Rourke, or someone else?”

A plurality, 45 percent, said they would support Abbott, leaving O’Rourke seven points behind with 38 percent support. Another 16 percent said they would vote for someone else, and one percent remain unsure.

While a majority of Democrats support O’Rourke (76 percent) and most Republicans support Abbott (76 percent), Abbott holds a seven-point advantage over his potential Democrat challenger among independents, leading 36 percent to 29 percent. 

According to the survey, 50 percent of voters approve of Abbott’s job performance, and of those, 23 percent “strongly” approve. Forty-six percent, however, disapprove. 

The survey, taken February 8-15, 2022, among 1,188 registered Texas voters, has a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percent. 

Survey after survey show Abbott leading his potential Democrat challenger — from five percentage points to 11 percentage points. More recently, a Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin survey found Abbott leading O’Rourke by 10 percentage points.

While the Democrat gubernatorial hopeful initially doubled down on his position to take guns away from law-abiding citizens, he recently appeared to back off that position, contending that he is “not interesting in taking anything from anyone,” despite attempting to build his previous Senate campaign and presidential campaign on that issue. 

The Texas primary takes place in less than a month, on March 1.