TEXAS — As Election Day draws nearer, a new poll suggests that Democratic candidate for Texas governor Beto O’Rourke may be gaining on Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.

A poll released Wednesday by the UT/Texas Politics Project has Abbott leading O’Rourke 45% to 40%.

The poll additionally found the Libertarian and Green Party candidates at 2%, 3% of respondents indicated “someone else,” and 8% said they haven’t thought about it enough to have an opinion.

The poll surveyed 1,200 registered voters and was conducted online between Aug. 28 and Sept. 6. It has a margin of error of +/- 2.83%.

The wide-ranging poll found that Abbott has some advantages. Respondents showed they trust the governor to do a better job with the state economy, public safety, voting and elections and immigration/border issues.

Texans said they would trust O’Rourke to do a better job with abortion and the environment/climate change.

It’s much closer when it comes to the issues of health care, public education, gun violence and the state’s electric grid. 

Perhaps unfortunately for O’Rourke, respondents identified the top election issue in 2022 as immigration/border security. The state economy, abortion, gun violence, climate change and health care followed.

Abbott and O’Rourke will take part in a debate to be televised across the state on Sept. 30.

The poll found incumbent Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick holds a 7-point advantage over his Democratic challenger, Mike Collier. Collier, who has gained the support of a few prominent state Republicans, in 2018 came within 5 points of unseating Patrick.

The poll shows incumbent Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton with a 38%-33% advantage over his Democratic rival, Rochelle Garza. The results were largely unchanged from a June poll showing him with an 8-point lead.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8.