AUSTIN — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton widened his narrow lead over Democratic challenger Rochelle Garza, a sign the embattled incumbent may have some breathing room ahead of the November election, according to a new poll.
Paxton now leads Garza by 7 percentage points among registered voters — up from a 2-point margin a month ago, according to a Dallas Morning News-University of Texas at Tyler poll released Monday.
Since August, the poll showed Paxton has shored up some support among independents and Republicans, yet 1 in 5 voters are still undecided in the race. And 6% support Libertarian Mark Ash while 6% want someone else.
While the poll shows the race is still the most competitive for statewide office — and could offer Democrats their best shot at reversing a nearly three-decade losing streak — it’s been one of the most sleepy.
Neither Paxton nor Garza has been blitzing the airwaves, like candidates running at the top of the ticket.
Last week, Paxton dropped the first ad of the head-to-head contest labeling Garza a “radical politician” who worked for an “extremist far-left group.” The campaign did not respond to questions about when and where the digital ad is running.
Garza, a South Texas civil rights attorney who worked for the American Civil Liberties Union, called the attack a “desperate attempt” to distract from Paxton’s own legal troubles.
The Collin County Republican has spent almost his entire tenure under indictment for securities fraud and more recently came under investigation by the FBI over accusations of corruption. Paxton has denied wrongdoing.
For her part, Garza held several voter meet-and-greets last week in El Paso and North Texas.
Paxton is not publicizing any campaign events. In early September, Paxton’s campaign held a private fundraiser with former President Donald Trump, a close ally of the attorney general.
The poll found Paxton’s approval rating held steady from August, as did the percentage of voters who believe he has the integrity needed for the job. Garza maintained her edge with independent voters (28%) over Paxton (23%). Latino voters narrowly broke for Garza, by a margin of 32%-29%, the poll found.
The poll, conducted Sept. 6-13, surveyed 1,268 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.
