Kamala Harris Making Gains on Donald Trump in Texas, New Poll Shows

Vice President Kamala Harris appeared to gain ground with Texas voters in a poll released on Friday.

The survey from the University of Texas/Texas Politics Project showed former President Donald Trump still in the lead in the state, with 49 percent, but the Democratic candidate was not far behind with 44 percent.

Pollsters examined trends in the state between June and late August, which showed increased enthusiasm from registered Democrats, while Harris’ favorability also rose.

The majority of those supporting the vice president (70 percent) said they wanted her to win November’s election, while the rest simply wanted Trump not to win.

Overall, polling in the Lone Star State has shown Harris consistently behind the Republican over the past month, but by only a few points. One of the biggest shifts in the data between June and August came with Democratic enthusiasm for the election, which increased from 61 percent to 79 percent.

Between the two polls, a major change in the election occurred: President Joe Biden‘s withdrawal from the race and Harris’ endorsement and nomination.

Texans appeared divided on their enthusiasm for Harris, with 45 percent in favor and 46 percent against. The share of Democrat voters who view her “very favorably” doubled over the past two months.

Trump was still viewed reasonably favorably, with 49 percent of voters approving of him in August compared to 45 percent in June. Texas Republicans supported the former president overall, but 57 percent of independents viewed him negatively.

“Kamala Harris’s unprecedented replacement of Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential candidate has triggered attention to whether and how Harris might help Democrats in attracting key groups of voters whose support for Biden was called into question by early polling trends,” pollsters James Henson and Joshua Blank said.

“There are several sources of caution necessary at this stage of the campaign when interpreting changes over time in group support using polling data to date.”

They explained that many polls had been undertaken with small groups, which meant larger margins of error, but they added that Harris had improved her ratings enough to maintain the Democratic base in Texas.

The poll also examined other factors influencing the election, including whether Trump was considered too old to be President—46 percent felt he was.

Both candidates scored 52 percent on competency, while Harris just beat Trump on having “the temperament to serve effectively as president,” 49 percent against 47 percent.

On policy, Texans gave Trump higher ratings for most key areas, including the economy, immigration and infrastructure. Still, Harris was viewed more favorably regarding gun violence, health care and climate change.

One of the starkest differences between the candidates was on abortion access, with Harris seeing a 55 percent trust rating compared to 27 percent for Trump.

With different voter groups, Harris led Trump among Black and Latino voters, while Trump had a 23 percent lead over his rival among White voters.

The Texas poll is the latest in a string of surveys showing a close race, with only a few points between candidates in many key states.