Poll: gap widens in governor race, Abbott still leads
By Matthew Waller
AUSTIN — New statewide polling data shows the lead Republican and Democratic candidates for governor are within 11 percentage points of each other, broadening the gap with the Republican candidate in the lead. Meanwhile, the candidates are dominating their primary races.
According to the University of Texas and Texas Tribune Poll for February, Republican Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is ahead in his gubernatorial bid with 47 percent while Democratic candidate state Sen. Wendy Davis of Fort Worth has 36 percent support of those polled.
The gap between the candidates had been 6 percent in the same poll in October. At that time Abbott had 40 percent and Davis had 34 percent. In October, Davis had just announced her run for governor
The other option for those polled was “Haven’t thought about it enough to have an opinion.”
The favorable numbers favored Abbott, James Henson, a co-director of the poll and University of Texas political science professor, highlighted.
In the October poll, Abbott had a 36 percent favorable impression. Now 45 percent have a favorable impression. His unfavorable impression went up from 24 to 25 percent.
“More people are aware of him, and that awareness has been favorable,” Henson said.
As for Davis, she had a 37 percent favorable impression. Now 36 percent have a favorable impression. Her unfavorable impression went from 31 percent in October to 35 percent now.
“There are no signs that the Davis campaign has collapsed or any such thing, but they do seem to have been relatively static over the last few months,” Henson said.
Both candidates have about 90 percent support in their primary races, Abbott faces Miriam Martinez, Lisa Fritsch and SECEDE Kilgore. Of those who responded to the poll Abbott has 90 percent of the support of the poll respondents. Davis faces Ray Madrigal in the Democratic primary and has 87 percent support.
“This is going to be a long campaign season,” Rebecca Acuña, the press secretary for Davis campaign, said in a statement. “Once voters know the real character and judgment of Abbott, which he displayed last week when he campaigned with an admitted sexual predator, they will know that Wendy Davis is the candidate who best represents Texas values.”
Abbott’s campaign declined to comment on the new poll data.
The poll is an Internet survey of 1,200 registered voters conducted Feb. 7-17. The poll generally comes out during summer, fall and winter.
Abbott is engaged in a get-out-the-vote tour for the primaries. The Davis campaign, meanwhile, continued to send out a release attacking Abbott over his campaign appearances with controversial rock star Ted Nugent. Nugent who called President Barack Obama a “subhuman mongrel,” for which he apologized, although not to Obama, and he has admitted to having a relationship with an underage girl on a VH1 Behind the Music TV show.
The Nugent controversy came out after the polling was conducted, although Henson said he didn’t think that the incident is anything that would wildly disrupt the race.