Election 2014: Texas Governor

Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott has a double-digit lead over Democrat Wendy Davis in the race to be Texas’ first new governor in nearly 14 years.

Abbott posts a 51% to 40% lead over Davis, a state senator, in Rasmussen Reports’ latest statewide telephone survey of Likely Texas Votes. Three percent (3%) like some other candidate, and seven percent (7%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Among the 82% of voters who say they will definitely vote in this election, Abbott leads 53% to 41%.

This survey was taken on the two nights following the candidates’ last debate on Tuesday in Dallas.

In early August, Abbott was ahead 48% to 40%, after leading by 12 points – 53% to 41% - in our first look at this race in March. 

Texas now shifts from Leans Republican to Safe Republican on the Rasmussen Reports 2014 Gubernatorial Scorecard. Current Governor Rick Perry, the state’s longest serving chief executive, is stepping down at the end of his current term.

Davis has the support of 82% of Texas Democrats. Abbott earns the backing of 82% of the state’s Republicans and leads by 15 points among voters not affiliated with either major party.

Davis has criticized Abbott for his positions on women’s issues, but only 24% of voters in Texas think there is really a political “war on women.” Sixty-one percent (61%) believe that is primarily a slogan used for political purposes instead. This is consistent with voter attitudes nationally.

Eighty-two percent (82%) of voters who believe there really is a war on women support Davis. Seventy-one percent (71%) of those who say it’s just a slogan favor Abbott.

The GOP candidate has double-digit leads among both men and women in Texas.

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The survey of 840 Likely Voters in Texas was conducted on October 1-2, 2014 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Both candidates are well known in the state, but Abbott is the better liked of the two. He is viewed favorably by 57% and unfavorably by 35%. This includes 28% with a Very Favorable opinion and 18% with a Very Unfavorable one.

For Davis, favorables are 44% and unfavorables 46%. This includes 23% with a Very Favorable view of her and 33% with a Very Unfavorable one.

Opinions of both candidates haven’t changed since August, nor has the level of trust voters have in them. Abbott is still trusted more than Davis in all four major policy areas we regularly track – government spending (48% to 36%), taxes (50% to 35%), social issues (44% to 41%) and government ethics and corruption (44% to 37%).

Voters are evenly divided when asked if Texas is better off than it was when Perry was reelected four years ago: 42% say yes, while another 42% say no. Sixteen percent (16%) are undecided.

Abbott earns 55% support among voters who say the state is better off now and leads 47% to 41% among those who are undecided. Abbott also has a slight 47% to 45% lead among those who say the state is not better off.

Fifty-nine percent (59%) of all voters in the state now approve of the job Perry is doing as governor. That’s up five points from August and includes 28% who Strongly Approve. Thirty-eight percent (38%) disapprove of his job performance, including 25% who Strongly Disapprove.

See our most recent numbers from the governor's races in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho  Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire,  New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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