Texas governor poll: Abbott leads O'Rourke, border top issue for voters

Gov. Greg Abbott’s controversial bus plan helping him gain momentum in latest polls

The latest polls show O'Rourke still in striking distance, according to political scientists. But Gov. Abbott continues to gain momentum from his controversial bus plan, keeping the border in the national spotlight.

With election day six weeks away polls continue to show Gov. Greg Abbott with a lead over his Democrat challenger Beto O'Rourke.

A poll of likely voters released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University shows Abbott with a 7-point lead over O'Rourke (53%-46%).

"The race for the top job in Austin leans toward Abbott, who has very strong support from white Texans, particularly white men, while O'Rourke has overwhelming appeal among Black voters and strong support among young voters," said Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy.

The poll surveyed 1,327 likely Texas voters from Sept. 22-26 with a margin of error of +/-2.7 percentage points.

Just 3 percent of voters who support a candidate in the race said they might change their minds before the election.

Respondents said the security of the Texas-Mexico Border was the most urgent issue facing Texas today.

Gov. Abbott's campaign has focused much of its attention on border, while O'Rourke's campaign has focused on abortion (the number 2 issue for Texas voters) and gun safety (the number 4 ranked issue).

"With 1,254 miles of border and a steady surge of immigrants, Texans can't help but have the border top of mind," said Malloy.

Gov. Abbott and O'Rourke will square off on Friday for the pair's only debate of the campaign season. The debate will be held University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Election day is Tuesday, November 8.

Most Urgent Issues for Texas voters (According to Quinnipiac Poll)

Texas-Mexico Border (38%)
Abortion (17%)
Inflation (11%)
Gun Policy (8%)
Election Laws (6%)