Poll results for Texas governor vary widely among Hispanic voters
TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - As Republican Governor Greg Abbott and Democrat Beto O'Rourke campaign across Texas, they have focused a lot of effort on the Latino community.
Jason Villalba, CEO and board chair of the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation, a non-partisan, non-profit group whose mission is to better understand the Latino population in Texas, said his organization expects 27% of the vote next month in Texas will be cast by Hispanics.
"Hispanics all across Texas share some level of history and understanding, cultural affinity, but their politics are quite different all around the state," Villalba said.
You can see that in recent polls for Abbott and O'Rourke.
Two polls, Quinnipiac University and Marist College, show a one percentage point lead for O'Rourke over Abbott, 49%-48%.
The Spectrum News/Siena poll gives O'Rourke a 22-percentage point lead, 58%-36%, while Villalba's Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation poll gives O'Rourke a 15-percentage point lead over Abbott, 54%-39%.
The Dallas Morning News/UT Tyler poll shows O'Rourke is ahead by four-percentage points, 41%-37%, while The Hill/Emerson poll shows Abbott has a four-percentage point lead over O'Rourke, 46%-42%.
O'Rourke, who speaks Spanish, said it's important for him to talk with Hispanic voters directly.
"The ability to connect with those voters in Spanish and answer questions in Spanish and connect on the economy, on jobs, on inflation, on improving our schools, and expanding Medicaid and to do that in Spanish is so important," he said.
Governor Abbott, whose wife, First Lady Cecilia Abbott is Latina, told me his party's policies and beliefs attract Hispanic voters.
"The Hispanic community believes in three core principles: faith, family, and freedom and they know it's the Republican party who supports those concepts," Abbott said. "Second thing is they believe in a secure border. They are angry about the Biden administration's open-border policies."
The crisis at the southern border has helped Republicans make gains in the Rio Grande Valley, but Villalba said there's a limit to how much it will help statewide.
"We have seen a slight shift towards Republicans among Hispanics in that region," Villalba said. "Even though there might be a slight shift in that one region, the numbers of individuals down there won't be an impactful factor for a statewide race."
Villalba, a former State Representative from Dallas, said Democrats enjoy more support from Hispanics in the big cities across the state such as Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and El Paso.