The day before President Donald Trump stopped in Texas to rally support for the Republican ticket, a new poll showed the party was facing headwinds in the state’s top-of-the-ticket races.
A YouGov poll released Oct. 6 surveyed 3,625 likely voters in Texas and found that James Talarico leads Ken Paxton 50%-44% — outside the poll’s margin of error of 3 percentage points. — in the Texas Senate race.
In the governor’s race, the poll was conducted from Sept. 28 to Oct. 5 and found that Democratic challenger Gina Hinojosa slightly leads Gov. Greg Abbott, 48% to 47%, within the poll’s margin of error.
Both Democrats are carrying the women and Hispanic vote, as well as voters ages 18 to 44. Meanwhile, Republicans retained solid leads among non-college-educated and white voters and narrower leads among men.
With early voting in the state starting Oct. 19, here’s a look at recent polling from September and early October.
US President Donald Trump attends a campaign rally for Republican US Senate candidate Ken Paxton at Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas, US, October 7, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci
Recent Texas U.S. Senate race polls
Here’s what September and October polls showed:
Recent Texas governor’s race polls
Here’s what September polls showed:
Mateo Rosiles is the Texas Connect reporter for USA TODAY and its regional papers in Texas, based in Austin. Got a news tip for him? Email him at mrosiles@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New poll shows tightening race for GOP in Texas Senate, governor races
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