**UT Tyler Poll Shows Trump Dominating Texas GOP Primary; Democratic Senate Race Headed to Runoff**
AUSTIN, TX – The latest poll from the University of Texas at Tyler indicates former President Donald Trump holds an overwhelming lead in the Texas Republican Presidential Primary, while the Democratic race for the U.S. Senate appears headed for a runoff. President Joe Biden maintains a significant lead in the Democratic presidential contest, though a notable portion of voters remain undecided.
The survey, conducted by UT Tyler’s Department of Political Science and Public Administration and its Opinion Research Center, found Trump with 77% support among likely Republican primary voters. Nikki Haley garnered 17%, with 6% going to other candidates or undecided. Haley showed slightly stronger support among women, younger voters, and those with higher education or income, particularly in urban and suburban areas of Texas, but not enough to challenge Trump statewide.
On the Democratic side, President Joe Biden leads with 65% of the vote. However, a substantial 29% of Democratic primary voters are still undecided. Dean Phillips received 2% and Marianne Williamson 4%.
In the U.S. Senate Republican Primary, incumbent Senator Ted Cruz appears well-positioned to avoid a runoff, securing 56% of the vote. His closest challengers, Brandon Gill and Holland Gibson, polled at 11% and 10% respectively, leaving Cruz comfortably above the 50% threshold needed to win outright.
The Democratic U.S. Senate Primary, by contrast, is very likely headed for a runoff. State Senator Roland Gutierrez leads the crowded field with 28%, followed by Colin Allred at 17%, and Meri Gomez at 11%. With 23% of voters still uncertain and other candidates like Carl Sherman (7%) and Ahmad Hassan (5%) splitting votes, the top two finishers will almost certainly face off again after Super Tuesday on March 5th.
The UT Tyler poll was conducted online from February 18th to 26th, surveying 1,079 registered voters across Texas in both English and Spanish. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 3.0 percentage points. For more information on the university, visit https://www.uttyler.edu.
Early voting for the primaries, which began on February 20th, concludes this Friday, March 1st, giving Texans a final chance to cast their ballots ahead of Super Tuesday.
