Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Takes Commanding Lead over Beto O’Rourke in Governor’s Race

abbott o'rourke
Lynda M. Gonzalez, Ron Jenkins/Getty Images
Hannah Knudsen

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has a commanding lead over his Democrat challenger Robert Francis O’Rourke, a UTTyler/Dallas Morning News survey released this week found.

The survey asked respondents who they would support in the Lone Star State’s governor’s race. Overall, 47 percent said they would back Abbott, compared to 38 percent who said the same for O’Rourke, giving the Republican a nine-point lead. 

However, the governor’s lead expands into the double-digits among voters who are more certain. In that category, Abbott garners 50 percent of the vote, compared to 39 percent for O’Rourke:

Abbott also holds the edge with white voters, women, and parents, while O’Rourke holds the edge with black voters and Latinos — although Abbott only falls four points behind among Latino voters. 

Further, 54 percent trust Abbott to keep his campaign promises at least “a fair amount” if he is reelected, compared to 49 percent who said the same for O’Rourke.

The survey also asked respondents who they believe will do better handling specific issues. Most believe Abbott will do a better job reducing crime (45 percent to O’Rourke’s 31 percent), securing the border (48 percent to 24 percent), handling the electrical grid (37 percent to 35 percent), improving the economy (43 percent to 32 percent) and improving schools (37 percent to 35 percent). O’Rourke has a one-point advantage in the belief that he will do a better job “bringing people together.”

The survey was taken September 6-13, 2022, among 1,268 registered voters and has a +/- 2.8 percent margin of error. 

More recently, O’Rourke has focused less on the issues that Texans deem the most important, focusing largely on gun control and abortion, contending Abbott is making people “less safe” as well as “killing Texas women.”

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