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Election 2026: Polls show close race for Texas governor
As November draws closer, the campaign trail is hot, with Governor Abbott in San Antonio and Gina Hinojosa hitting cable television.
TEXAS - As November draws closer, the campaign trail is hot, with Governor Abbott in San Antonio and Gina Hinojosa hitting cable television.
The latest polling shows a close race, but political experts say there’s still plenty of time before Texans head to the polls.
Both candidates are already making their cases to voters.
What they're saying:
The latest FOX News poll shows the race for Texas governor is tight. Incumbent Greg Abbott holds one point over democratic challenger, Gina Hinojosa, 50 to 49 %.
Hinojosa’s campaign says she leads with independents, moderates, black voters, Latino voters and suburban voters.
"What the polling is showing us in general, is that Abbott has a lead of somewhere between one and seven points, but most of the polling has shown him at about five or six points ahead of his competitor," said Joshua Blank, research Director at the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin.
Joshua Blank, research director with the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas, says summer polls provide only a snapshot of the race. He says the polling will get more accurate as election day approaches and more voters begin paying attention.
"The republican advantage in Texas tends to be about seven points when the race starts. And then local conditions and national conditions will determine whether that lead gets bigger or whether it shrinks. What we're seeing in Texas in 2026, given a national environment that's very challenging for republicans, we're seeing these leads narrow. But at the same time, we are still seeing the governor maintaining that consistent republican advantage of about six points," said Blank.
Gov. Abbott's campaign
Meanwhile, both campaigns are working to win over voters.
On Tuesday, Abbott announced potential legislation aimed at lowering electricity costs.
The law would ban what he calls monopolies over what cities like San Antonio and Austin have on electricity to give people the ability to choose their own provider.
Abbott says the plan could save Austin and San Antonio residents more than 10% a year on their electricity costs.
"All consumers in the city of San Antonio would be able to do what other people in the state of Texas are able to and that is to do a Google search for a retail electric provider and find a lower rate than currently provided by CPS. That in turn would make CPS be competitive on a price point with those other electric providers," said Gov. Greg Abbott.
This comes as Abbott made a halt to pausing new data center connections to the Texas power grid pending a comprehensive audit.
"The best thing that Abbott can do right now is say, let's take a pause and we'll talk about it after the election. From a campaign perspective, he can say, if you want to know who stopped it, I'm the one. And that's advantageous right now," said Blank.
Gina Hinojosa's campaign
Meanwhile, Gina Hinojosa released her new campaign ad "Lone Star" airing across Texas.
"I’ll take on the billionaires who bought this governor, the big corporations jacking up costs and the politicians who line their pockets and forgot who they serve," says Hinojosa in the ad.
According to the Dallas Morning News, the $340,000 ad is her first cable buy of the general election.
Hinojosa’s campaign team says it's gaining momentum behind a platform focused on school funding, lowering costs for all Texans by ending what it calls the Greg Abbott corruption tax, and holding corporate data centers accountable.
What's next:
Early voting starts in Texas on October 19, and Election Day is Tuesday, November 3.
The Source: Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Jenna King