AUSTIN, Texas – Dueling polls are providing conflicting pictures in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate nomination.
The mixed messaging from the polling was a big topic that we took up in the FOX 7 Austin Battleground Texas segment.
The backstory:
Both campaigns have their own spin on the numbers, and the one thing that’s clear is neither candidate is planning to coast into the March 3 election day.
Jasmine Crockett has a double-digit lead over James Talarico, according to a new poll from the University of Texas Politics Project; 56% of those who took part in the survey said they support Crockett, and 44% said they support Talarico.
The poll has a large 5-point margin of error, and it was done before Talarico’s Colbert Show interview. The Round Rock democrat hauled in a lot of donations after that story went viral.
On Wednesday, the Talarico campaign announced that a firm it hired, after the interview controversy, has him leading Crockett by four points.
James Henson with the Politics Project told FOX4’s Steven Dial he is confident in the snapshot the numbers provided. He also explained why the survey is not a prediction.
“We came out of the field in this poll around February 16, a lot of money and by a lot, I mean, and the count, you know, counted in the millions of dollars were going to be spent in these races after we collected this data, so I would not be surprised and nobody should be surprised if there is movement in these numbers. And that is especially true of some of the down ballot races where many voters are not familiar with the candidates. They’re going to be introduced to the candidates at the very last minute and, in many cases, after we have conducted polling. So, more than ever, when there’s this much money going into these races and there’s such a dynamic environment, people should not take these predictions because they’re not. They are, as you say, a picture of where the electorate is in time in a particular context, and that context is very dynamic, and I have every expectation that they’re going to change,” said Henson.
Dig deeper:
The Battleground discussion included a couple of other snapshots from the State of the Union involving Congressman Chip Roy.
Before the speech, when President Trump entered the House chamber, he gave Roy a quick handshake. But after the speech, it looked like there was a snub by the President as he moved past Roy.
Chip Roy is currently the front-runner in the GOP nomination for Texas attorney general. Primary rivals, Aaron Reitz and Mayes Middleton, weighed in and posted their own snubs on social media. Roy didn’t address the encounter with Trump but in a post said the president “delivered a home run” with the speech.
Senate Leader John Thune is hoping the President will deliver a key endorsement during his trip to Texas on Friday. In an interview on FOX News, Thune said he is continuing to urge the president to endorse John Cornyn in the bitter and tight race for the GOP senate nomination. That endorsement, according to Thune, will help protect the senate seat and allow the party to move money to other races.
Battleground Texas can be viewed on FOX Local. The segment runs from Monday through Friday at 3 p.m.
The Source: Information from Battleground Texas