A new poll shows former President Donald Trump leading Vice President Kamala Harris by 5 percentage points in Texas.
Trump, representing the Republican Party, faces Harris, who entered the presidential race after President Joe Biden ended his bid for reelection.
The Texas Politics Project at The University of Texas at Austin conducted the poll, revealing that 49% of Texas voters support Trump, while 44% back Harris. An additional 3% preferred another candidate, and 4% had no opinion.
The poll surveyed 1,200 registered Texas voters between August 23-31, with a margin of error of 2.83%.
This race is closer than the one between Biden and Trump, as a June poll by the same organization showed Trump leading Biden by 7 to 9 percentage points, depending on the inclusion of third-party candidates.
| Overall | Republicans | Democrats | Independents | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harris | Trump | Harris | Trump | Harris | Trump | Harris | Trump | |
| has the temperament to serve effectively as president | 49 | 47 | 14 | 84 | 89 | 9 | 53 | 36 |
| is honest and trustworthy | 42 | 39 | 10 | 72 | 81 | 6 | 33 | 26 |
| is competent | 52 | 52 | 18 | 91 | 91 | 12 | 52 | 43 |
| cares about people like you | 46 | 45 | 14 | 82 | 84 | 6 | 38 | 31 |
| is a strong leader | 43 | 57 | 10 | 94 | 81 | 18 | 40 | 49 |
| is knowledgeable | 53 | 55 | 19 | 92 | 92 | 15 | 53 | 42 |
| is too old to be president in 2025 | 6 | 46 | 4 | 16 | 9 | 79 | 4 | 51 |
In 2016, Trump won Texas by about 9 points against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Though he lost the national vote, Trump secured Texas again in 2020, this time beating Joe Biden by about 6 points.
The latest poll shows growing enthusiasm among Democrats for the 2024 election. About 79% of Democrats said they’re extremely or very eager to vote in November, up from 61% in June. Meanwhile, Republican enthusiasm has slightly decreased, with 73% expressing strong enthusiasm, down from 77% in June.
The poll also revealed that 72% believe Biden made the right decision by leaving the presidential race, including 89% of Democrats.
When asked to compare candidates, 49% of voters see Harris as a stronger candidate than Biden, 15% believe she’s weaker, and 32% say there’s no significant difference. Four percent were undecided or had no opinion.
