AUSTIN (KXAN) — Rep. Colin Allred has increased his lead over State Rep. Roland Gutierrez, and several other candidates, in a new poll of the crowded Democratic primary field for U.S. Senate.
Allred is the first choice for 28% of Democratic voters, according to the poll by the University of Texas/Texas Politics Project. The Dallas-area congressman has increased his share by seven percentage points since an October poll.
State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, polled at 7% in the new poll, down from 10% in October. No other candidate received more than 3% support in either poll.
Forty-eight percent of respondents said they didn’t know who they would vote for if the election were held today or hadn’t thought about it enough to form an opinion — up from 46% in October.
Republican incumbent Ted Cruz will likely be his party’s nominee in the 2024 election. He has held the Senate seat since 2013.
Cruz leads both Allred and Gutierrez in the new poll, with a 16-point margin over both Democrats.
A significant number of respondents said they hadn’t thought enough to have an opinion yet, though. Fifteen percent of respondents had no opinion yet in a hypothetical matchup between Cruz and Allred, while 17% had no opinion on a Cruz-Gutierrez matchup.
Primary elections will take place on March 5, 2024, with the general election following on Nov. 5.
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