New poll in Texas: The Abbott–Hinojosa governor’s race is very close

A new poll published on Wednesday, September 30, shows that the race for governor of Texas remains very close: Republican Governor Greg Abbott holds a small lead over Democratic candidate Gina Hinojosa.

According to the PollMax poll, as El Paso Times reports, Abbott is supported by 48.8% of voters, while Hinojosa receives 44.5% — a difference of only 4.2 percentage points.

The result confirms the race as a toss-up and potentially one of the closest governor’s races in Texas history. The closest race ever was that of 1978, with a difference of only 0.72 points, followed by that of 1990 (2.55 points) and of 1994 (7.6 points).

Abbott’s campaign, meanwhile, has stepped up its attacks on the Democratic rival, labelling Hinojosa as “the most progressive liberal in the Texas legislature” — a label the Democrat has strongly pushed back against.

Texas voters have little time to prepare: the voter registration deadline is October 5, early voting runs from October 19 to 30, while election day is Tuesday, November 3.