Border issues driving Abbott lead over O'Rourke in Texas: poll

On policies, respondents decidedly favored Abbot to handle the economy.

Governor of Texas Greg Abbott is seen in attendance during the UFC 265 event at Toyota Center on August 07, 2021 in Houston, Texas.

By Ben Whedon

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has a seven-point lead over Democratic rival Beto O'Rourke in the state's gubernatorial contest, a recent poll revealed.

Abbott commanded 53% support among likely voters to O'Rourke's 46%, per a Quinnipiac survey released Wednesday. The disparity largely comes from independents, who backed Abbott over O'Rourke by the exact same margin. Both candidates earned 96% support from their own parties.

On policies, respondents decidedly favored Abbot to handle the economy (56-41), the southern border (54-43), and gun policy (53-44), while O'Rourke was the preferred candidate on abortion rights (48-46).

That slight lead on abortion issues may not be of much benefit to O'Rourke as voters 38% of voters identified the southern border as the biggest issue in the race while just 17% said it was abortion rights.

Abbott leads O'Rourke by 8.0%, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average.