Ted Cruz leads Colin Allred by 7 points, new poll shows
With early voting right around the corner, Republican Ted Cruz leads his Democratic challenger Colin Allred by 7 percentage points, according to a new poll.
The University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll talked to 1,200 registered Texas voters from Oct. 2-10.
READ MORE: Ted Cruz-Colin Allred: Where the candidates stand on the issues
51% of respondents backed Cruz, compared to just 44% for Allred.
Libertarian Ted Brown earned support from 4% of the people polled.
The 7-point lead is larger than other recent polls, but down from UT/TXP's previous polling.
The same poll showed Cruz with an 11-point lead in June and an 8-point lead in August.
In 2018, UT/TXP showed Cruz with a 51% to 45% lead over Beto O'Rourke.
Cruz won that race 50.9% to 48.3%.
The polling shows that Allred leads Cruz among voters who identify as independent (49% to 37%), but Cruz with a strong lead in the suburbs (52% to 45%).
Also of note, the poll shows Cruz and Allred neck and neck among Hispanic voters, with 49% supporting Cruz and 47% backing Allred.
Early voting in Texas begins on Monday, Oct. 21.
Election Day is Nov. 5.