It's three months before the 2018 midterms, and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is seeing his lead over Democratic challenger Rep. Beto O'Rourke (Texas) steadily shrinking, according to two polls released Wednesday. A new Quinnipiac poll gave Cruz a 6-point advantage over O'Rourke, 49 percent to 43 percent, but that was a notable shift from the previous Quinnipiac poll, which gave Cruz an 11-point lead. A few hours before Quinnipiac released its survey, Texas Lyceum released a poll showing Cruz and O'Rourke neck-and-neck, 41 percent to 39 percent, well within the poll's 4.67-point margin of error.
"Cruz has a slight, by no means overwhelming, lead," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac Poll. "O'Rourke has done a good job making the race competitive. With three months until Election Day, he is clearly in contention. A Democratic victory in the Lone Star state would be a serious blow to GOP hopes of keeping their U.S. Senate majority." A close race in Texas may seem unexpected, and it is, but O'Rourke "continues to nip at Cruz's heels" because he's "a strong Democratic challenger raising prolific sums of money and tons of earned media," said Lyceum's Josh Blank, adding, "it's a long way to go until Election Day."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Donald Trump: the president who would be kingTalking Point White House staff appear to have welcomed the president's 'kingly pretensions'
-
Toast to great drinks and gorgeous views at these 7 rooftop barsThe Week Recommends Elevate your typical night out
-
Sudoku medium: February 24, 2025The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Mitch McConnell won't seek reelectionSpeed Read The longest-serving Senate party leader is retiring
-
Trump reportedly wants to take over US Postal ServiceSpeed Read President Trump is making plans to disband the leadership of USPS and absorb the agency into his administration
-
Trump seeks to end New York's congestion pricingSpeed Read The MTA quickly filed a lawsuit to stop the move
-
Trump officials try to reverse DOGE-led firingsSpeed Read Mass firings by Elon Musk's team have included employees working on the H5N1 bird flu epidemic and US nuclear weapons programs
-
Trump blames Ukraine for war after US-Russia talksSpeed Read The US and Russia have agreed to work together on ending the Ukraine war — but President Trump has flipped America's approach
-
Musk's DOGE seeks access to IRS, Social Security filesSpeed Read If cleared, the Department of Government Efficiency would have access to tax returns, bank records and other highly personal information about most Americans
-
Senate confirms RFK Jr. as health secretarySpeed Read The noted vaccine skeptic is now in charge of America's massive public health system
-
Trump lays out plans for broad 'reciprocal' tariffsSpeed Read Tariffs imposed on countries that are deemed to be treating the US unfairly could ignite a global trade war and worsen American inflation
