According to the poll, more than half of Republican voters agreed that immigration and border security are the most important. Democrats’ priorities are more dispersed between abortion, health care, gun violence and climate change.
“So the question is, ‘Are Texans going to essentially vote the way they voted the past?” said Jon Taylor, political science expert and professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
He explained the poll shows a solidified base of support for both candidates and a “snapshot” of numbers that cannot predict the future. “It comes down to independent voters. That block of independent voters seem right now to be leaning more toward Abbott than O’Rourke. Next week, there could be another poll that all of a sudden shows Abbott with a four-point lead,” Taylor said.