Abbott surges to 11-point lead over O'Rourke in Texas governor's race: poll

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has widened his lead over Democratic rival Beto O'Rourke a recent poll revealed.

Abbott clocked in with 54% support among likely voters in the latest University of Texas Texas Politics Project survey. O'Rourke, meanwhile, claimed 43%.

Neither candidate enjoys significant crossover support from their opposing party, though Abbott holds the support of 60% of independents, compared to O'Rourke's 29%. Hispanic voters split evenly between them at 48% each. O'Rourke enjoyed an overwhelming 89% of black support.

O'Rourke entered the national spotlight with a 2018 senatorial bid against Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, which nearly defeated the conservative lawmaker. He subsequently sought the Democratic nomination for president in 2020 but failed to earn a place among the major contenders.

The poll, conducted among 883 likely voters, has a margin of error of +/- 3.3%.

The RealClearPolitics polling average currently assigns Abbott an 8.7% lead and rates the race as "Leans Republican."