A new poll shows Kamala Harris has halved Donald Trump’s lead in Texas, a state widely expected to vote Republican come November.
Harris has cut Trump’s lead to just under five points, according to a survey from the University of Houston and Texas Southern University released Thursday. Their last survey, recorded June 20 to July 1, had Trump with a nine-point lead over President Joe Biden.
These numbers are consistent with national polling. Harris has a 3.3-point lead over the former president, an average of major national polls shows. A recent New York Times/Siena College poll also showed Harris holding a four-point lead in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Chauncey McLean, president of Future Forward USA, one of the largest super political action committees backing Harris, said on Wednesday the campaign’s internal polling is much less optimistic.
“We have it tight as a tick, and pretty much across the board,” McLean said.
“Since the vice-president became the nominee, we talked to 375,000 Americans,” McLean continued. “What you see in the public polls – you know, a large public poll is [only] 1,000 surveys.”
The same Texas survey shows Senator Ted Cruz just 2.1 points ahead of his competitor, Representative Colin Allred. The June-July survey showed Cruz and Allred in a similarly tight competition.
Allred was set to speak at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday night ahead of Harris as he attempts to garner support in the race against Cruz. The incumbent Republican has held his senate seat since 2013.
The lead between Harris and Trump could shift in the coming days as independent candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr reportedly prepares to drop out of the presidential race.
While it’s unclear exactly which candidate Kennedy voters will turn to – if they vote at all – his supporters in swing states could have the ability to turn the tides in this close race.
Kennedy is expected to endorse Donald Trump following mounting pressure from Donald Trump Jr and former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson pressured him to drop from the race, a report revealed on Thursday.
