Abbott pulling further ahead in Texas governor's race: Poll

The Texas governor's race is widening still, according to a new Spectrum News/Siena College poll released Thursday, the Houston Chronicle reports.

Per the survey, incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is pulling further ahead of Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke, who has long been considered the underdog of the race. 

"Gov. Abbott, who won a landslide 13-point race against Democratic challenger Lupe Valdez four years ago, has a 7-point lead with over six weeks until Election Day," said Siena College Research Institute Director Don Levy, per the Chronicle. Abbott is up 50-43 over O'Rourke, the poll indicated.

"Abbott has the support of 95 percent of Republicans, and O'Rourke has the support of 93 percent of Democrats, while independents tilt toward Abbott by one point," Levy continued.

The survey also suggested Texas voters may be more concerned about immigration than abortion, the marquee issue du jour. Roughly 31 percent of those surveyed cited immigration as their top concern ahead of the election, while just 22 percent mentioned abortion, per the Chronicle. Those numbers "evened out," however, when respondents were asked to rank their top two issues.

Otherwise, Texans are most concerned about the economy and inflation. 

The new survey notably arrives in the wake of the controversy surrounding Abbott's continued relocation of migrants, whom he's bused from Texas border towns to Washington, D.C., and other cities in protest of President Biden's immigration policies.

Spectrum News and Siena College surveyed 651 likely Texas voters from Sept. 14-18, 2022. Results have a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.