Beto O'Rourke Is Trailing Ted Cruz By Only Four Points 

By Sophie Weiner  |  August 22, 2018 | 11:10pm
Elections

El Paso congressman Beto O’Rourke may have a chance to defeat incumbent scumbag Ted Cruz in Texas’ upcoming midterms. A new poll from NBC News/Marist found that O’Rourke’s support among registered voters is at 45 percent, while Cruz’ is at 49 percent. Six percent of voters responded that they are undecided.

Interestingly, the number of people who said they think Democrats should control Congress in general was lower, at 40 percent compared to 47 percent who favored Republicans, suggesting that the dissappointment may lie specifically with Cruz. The Governor’s race in Texas also shows Republicans in the lead.

Unsurpisngly, younger, nonwhite voters favored O’Rourke over Cruz. Like many polls, this data only includes landlines, so the respondents probably skew older. Black voters were particularly strong for O’Rourke, with 82 percent supporting him and 10 percent supporting Cruz. Hispanic voters supported O’Rourke over Cruz by 11 points.

O’Rourke has surprised political analysts during his campaign by raising large amounts of money from mainly small individual donations. His platforms includes support for gun control, ending public funds for private schools, expanding Medicaid and creating a public healthcare option, and support for the DREAM act.

If O’Rourke pulls out a victory this November, it will be the first time a Democrat has won a Texas senate seat since 1993.

“History is on the side of [Texas] Republican candidates for U.S. Senate and governor,” Lee M. Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, told NBC. “It’s been roughly three decades since a Democrat has been successful in contests for these offices in Texas. Yet O’Rourke is on the radar screen for many Texans.”

 
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