Ted Cruz Stung by New Texas Poll

Republican Ted Cruz is neck and neck with his expected Democratic challenger in the race for the Texas Senate seat, according to a poll.

A University of Texas at Tyler (UTT) survey found that incumbent Cruz and Texas Representative Colin Allred, the current frontrunner to be Democratic challenger in November's Senate election, are both tied on 41 percent when potential voters are asked who they may support in the race, with 12 percent saying they are still unsure.

In 2018, Cruz won re-election to the Texas Senate seat following a fiercely competitive race with former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke by just over 2.6 points. Ahead of November's elections, Cruz warned Republican voters in Texas that Democrats will target his Senate seat as the party hopes to keep control of the upper chamber.

The UTT survey also found that Cruz is not as well-liked in Texas as his presumptuous Democratic challenger.

The poll shows that 48 percent of people either hold a "very unfavorable" or "somewhat" favorable view of Cruz, with 39 percent saying they approve of the Republican, giving him a net favorable rating of minus nine points.

In comparison, Allred has a 30 percent favorable rating, with 18 percent saying they hold an unfavorable view of the congressman, giving the Democratic a net favorable score of plus 12 points.

However, nearly three in 10 people (29 percent) said they do not know enough about Allred to voice an opinion, meaning the score could change once the race for the Senate seat hots up.

Cruz's and Allred's offices have been contacted for comment via email.

Speaking to Fox News in February, Cruz said that he is in a "battleground" race to keep his Texas Senate seat while suggesting Democrats have made him their "number one target."

"My last race I won by less than three points because I'm the Democrats' top target," Cruz said. "I'm going to keep fighting for the rule of law, for the Constitution, for the Bill of Rights, and I'm going to keep fighting to secure the border. Even as we see these radicals undermine our safety."

Cruz made the comments after a National Public Affairs poll of likely voters also showed the Republican and Allred tied at 44 percent.

Cruz is still considered the favorite to win November's race, with forecasters Race to the White House giving Cruz a near 71 percent chance of winning November's race, with Allred given a 29 percent chance.

The University of Texas at Tyler survey was conducted between 1,167 registered voters between February 18-26. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.2 percent.