TEXAS — Democratic candidate for Texas governor Beto O’Rourke has been busy this summer, undertaking a 49-day campaign push he says will see him traveling 5,600 miles. 

Still, it may not be enough.

The latest poll by the Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler shows incumbent Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott with a comfortable 7-point lead over O’Rourke.

What You Need To Know

  • The latest poll by the Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler shows Republican Gov. Greg Abbott with a 7-point lead over Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke

  • O'Rourke has been campaigning throughout the summer, visiting numerous rural Texas counties. Abbott and O'Rourke could participate in a debate in South Texas in late September

  • The poll indicates a tighter race for Texas attorney general. It shows incumbent Republican Ken Paxton with just a 2-point lead over his Democratic challenger, Rochelle Garza

  • Incumbent Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick polled 8 points ahead of his Democratic challenger, Mike Collier

Among registered Texas voters surveyed, 46% expressed support for Abbott compared to 39% for O’Rourke. Green Party candidate Delilah Barrios and Libertarian nominee Mark Tippetts each received 3% support. Seven percent of respondents marked “Someone Else,” and 1% indicated “Don’t Know.”

For favorable impressions of the gubernatorial candidates, results were right down party lines. Forty-nine percent of Democrats surveyed showed they have a very favorable impression of O’Rourke. Among Republicans, that drops to 6%. Only 2% of Democrats indicated they have a very unfavorable impression of the former congressional representative compared to 65% of Republican respondents.

When asked if they approve of the job Abbott is doing as governor, 41% of Republican respondents said they strongly approve. Only 6% of Democrats strongly approve. Seven percent of Republican respondents indicated they strongly disapprove of Abbott’s performance compared to 66% of Democratic respondents.

O’Rourke challenged Abbott to three town hall-style debates this fall. Abbott said he’ll only do one in late September in the Rio Grande Valley. 

The race for Texas attorney general may be a little tighter. The poll shows incumbent Republican Ken Paxton with just a 2-point lead over his Democratic challenger, Rochelle Garza. Among Independents, Garza leads Paxton by 5 points.

Incumbent Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick polled 8 points ahead of his Democratic challenger, Mike Collier. In 2018, Collier came within 5 percentage points of beating Patrick for the job. 

The poll surveyed 1,384 registered voters and has a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points.