Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas maintains a slim lead over Rep. Collin Allred, D-Texas, as he runs for a third term.
According to a poll conducted by the University of Houston’s School of Public Affairs and the School of Public Affairs at Texas Southern University, Cruz leads Allred 47% to 44%. A previous poll had Cruz up by 9 points.
Libertarian candidate Ted Brown polls at 3% while 6% remain undecided. The poll found 7% of Cruz backers said they are open to changing their mind, compared to 8% of Allred voters.
The race has been rated “likely Republican,” by non-partisan handicappers like the Cook Political Report and Inside Elections.
The poll found 49% of likely voters had a favorable opinion of Cruz compared to 48% who had an unfavorable opinion. Voters were more in the dark about Allred, with 46% having a favorable opinion, 31% having an unfavorable opinion and 23% not knowing enough about him.
About 49% of likely voters surveyed said they have a favorable opinion of Cruz (27% very favorable), while 48% have an unfavorable opinion of him (38% very unfavorable). Just 3% said they don’t know enough about Cruz to have an opinion.
The poll also found former President Donald Trump leads President Joe Biden 49% to 40% in the Lone Star State with independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. polling at 5%.
A poll last month by the University of Texas at Tyler showed Cruz with a 4-point lead over Allred, 43% to 39%, with Brown polling at 5% and 12% of voters undecided or declining to answer.
The University of Houston survey of 1,484 likely voters was conducted between June 20 and July 1 in English and Spanish. The margin of error is 2.5 percentage points.