Abbott leads O'Rourke by 6 points in Texas governor's race, poll

Incumbent Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott is ahead of Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke by six points, according to a new poll.

The Texas Politics Project at the University of Austin poll, conducted in late June, found that if the election were held today Abbott would win with 45% of the vote (among likely voters), compared to 39% for O'Rourke, a former Texas congressman. 

Ten percent of the electorate said they had not mulled the question over thoroughly enough to have an answer about which candidate they would choose, while 3% said they would choose neither of the two candidates.

Along party-lines, 87% of Democrats polled said they would vote for O'Rourke, while 84% of Republicans said they would support Abbott. Among independents, 33% say they back Abbott, and 22% say they support O'Rourke.

A poll last week from CBS News-YouGov Texas similarly showed Abbott up by 8 percentage points over O'Rourke in a 49%-41% matchup. 

O'Rourke has already lost two high-profile races since leaving Congress to pursue another elected office.

He narrowly lost his 2018 bid to unseat Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz. And in 2020 he ran unsuccessfully among a crowed Democratic primary field for the party's presidential nomination.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates this year's Texas gubernatorial race as "likely Republican."