Beto O’Rourke Surges To A Tie In Texas As Ted Cruz’s Favorability Sinks Under Water

Last updated on September 26th, 2018 at 12:33 pm

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Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke continued to surge in the Texas Senate race on Monday with a new poll showing the race a statistical tie.

According to Emerson Polling, 38 percent of Texas voters support Sen. Ted Cruz and 37 percent plan to cast their ballot for O’Rourke.

Driving the Democrat‘s surge is his strong support among independent voters, who back O’Rourke by a stunning 20 percentage points. It’s also hurting Cruz that his favorable rating is under water.

More from Emerson:

The disparities in popularity and in the two elections appear to be driven by Independent voters. Ted Cruz has a 57% unfavorable rating among independents and a 25% favorable rating, conversely, Abbott, the other Republicans has a 41% unfavorable and 37% favorable rating among independents. These numbers play out in the ballot test where O’Rourke leads Cruz 45% to 25% among independents, while Abbott leads Valdez 38% to 27% among independents.

Adding to Cruz’s problem is that he faces a popular opponent, Beto O’Rourke has a 37% favorable and 25% unfavorable, 27% were neutral, while 11% had not heard of him.

Also adding to Cruz’s woes are his poor numbers among voters below the age of 55. According to the survey, “Among 18-34 year olds, O’Rourke leads by 19 points (47% to 28%); among 35-54 he leads by 8 points (45% to 37%).”

This is good for O’Rourke’s candidacy now, but it will also bode well for future Democratic candidates in Texas as Republican voters in the state appear to be aging out, while younger generations are trending blue.

Beto O’Rourke could be the future of the Democratic Party

Beto O’Rourke‘s momentum continues pushing him toward a stunning upset in Texas. Another recent poll showed him within four points of Ted Cruz, with the gap continuing to close as the election approaches.

The Democratic challenger has already shown that he is a skillful and likable politician with wide appeal, even if he falls short in the deep-red Lone Star State. But if he is able to pull off a victory in November, he will become an instant leader in the Democratic Party. After all, a Democratic candidate that can win a statewide race in Texas is worth paying attention to.

Win or lose in Texas, the fact that Democrats are competing this closely should be of great concern to the Republican Party.

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Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.