AUSTIN, Texas — A new poll from the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin is shedding light on how voters in the state feel about the upcoming presidential election.
The poll shows former President Donald Trump still holds a five-point lead over Vice President Kamala Harris, 49% to 44%. That's a narrower margin than the project's previous poll in June, which had Trump leading President Joe Biden 46% to 39% before the president stepped out of the race. Three percent of those polled said they would vote for an unspecified third candidate and 4% said they were still undecided.
Since Biden dropped out, Texas Democrats' enthusiasm about the election shot up. In June, 39% of polled Democrats said they were extremely enthusiastic. Fast forward to August, after Biden dropped out and Kamala Harris was the presumed nominee, that number jumped up to 52%.
On the other side of the aisle, the percentage of polled Republicans who said they were extremely enthusiastic about the upcoming election dropped from 55% in June to 49% in August.
One thing the majority of those polled agreed upon across party lines was that Biden made the right choice to step out of the race. Eighty-nine percent of polled Democrats said he made the right decision, along with 67% of polled independents and 57% of polled Republicans.
On the other hand, only 4% of polled Democrats, 19% of polled independents, and 28% of polled Republicans said Biden made the wrong decision.
The poll also asked about the vice presidential candidates.
Of those polled, only 39% said they held a favorable view of J.D. Vance, the Republican VP candidate, and 41% said they had an unfavorable view of him.
Democrat Tim Walz fared slightly better, with 40% saying they see him favorably and 38% saying they view him unfavorably.
Moving to the Senate race, Republican incumbent Ted Cruz holds an 8-point lead over Democratic challenger Colin Allred, 44% to 36%. That's down from a 16-point lead in December and an 11-point lead in June, according to the poll.
Click here for a more in-depth look at the poll.
