TEXAS — Three of the Texas’ top incumbent Republicans remain favored in their races as the Nov. 8 election draws nearer, but those leads are in single digits.

What You Need To Know

  • A new poll shows that while it’s close, incumbent Texas Republicans maintain an edge over their Democratic challengers as the election draws nearer

  • Gov. Greg Abbott leads Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke by 7 points among likely voters surveyed

  • Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton leads Democrat Rochelle Garza by just 3% among likely voters

  • Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick maintains an edge over Democrat Mike Collier. The poll shows likely voters favor Patrick by 6%. However, 8% remain undecided

That’s among the findings in a newly published poll by the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston and the Executive Master of Public Administration Program in the Barbara Jordan – Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs at Texas Southern University.

The wide-ranging poll breaks down support by ethnicity, party affiliation, age, gender and other factors.

In the race for governor, Gov. Greg Abbott leads Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke by 7 points among likely voters surveyed. About 7% of voters are undecided, 1% showed support for Libertarian candidate Marks Tippetts and 1% favored Green Party candidate Delilah Barrios.

The gloves are off in the race and TV ads are more frequent. Abbott and O’Rourke are scheduled to take part in a televised debate on Sept. 30. O’Rourke has accepted offers for several more town hall-style debates, but Abbott hasn’t signaled he will take part.

The poll shows Abbott with a 29% advantage over O’Rourke among white voters. O’Rourke leads by 57 points among Black voters. O’Rourke also leads Abbott among Latino voters, 53% to 38%.

The race for Texas attorney general appears to be much tighter. Incumbent Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton leads Democrat Rochelle Garza by just 3% among likely voters.

Paxton holds a 23% advantage over Garza among white voters, but Garza leads among Black, Latino and women voters. Paxton leads by 13% among men.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick maintains an edge over Democrat Mike Collier. The poll shows likely voters favor Patrick by 6%. However, 8% remain undecided.

Collier, a former Republican, in 2018 came within 5 points of defeating Patrick.

The poll surveyed 1,312 likely voters.