Talarico Opens 5-Point Texas Senate Lead Over Paxton With 14% Undecided
Updated
Updated · USA TODAY · Jul 28
Talarico Opens 5-Point Texas Senate Lead Over Paxton With 14% Undecided
3 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · Jul 28
Summary
James Talarico led Ken Paxton 45% to 40% in a July 15-17 TPOR poll of 1,048 likely Texas voters, widening from a 2-point edge in the group's May post-runoff survey.
Moderates and independents drove the shift, with voters saying Talarico better understands working Texans' economic challenges by 7 points and trusting him on affordability by 9 points.
Fourteen percent of voters remained undecided; among those leaning, 19% favored Paxton, 10% Talarico and 5% Libertarian Ted Brown.
Talarico led Black voters 71% to 8% and Latino voters 66% to 20%, while Paxton held a 53% to 33% advantage among white voters.
The poll followed a July 7 Texas Tribune-ProPublica report alleging Paxton voted using a former address, a claim his campaign denied, and contrasted with two late-June polls that showed the race essentially tied.