Allred leads crowded field in new Texas Democratic primary poll

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Four months ahead of the primary election in Texas, Rep. Colin Allred leads the Democratic field in a new poll.

The primary will feature a slate of candidates, but only two made it into the double digits in the poll conducted by the University of Texas/Texas Politics Project.

Allred, who represents Dallas-area Congressional District 32, picked up 21% among the 409 poll respondents who said they planned to vote in the primary. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, polled at 10%.

Twelve percent of respondents said they didn't know who they would vote for if the election were held today, while 34% said they haven't thought about it enough to form an opinion.

Name recognition is hindering the majority of candidates on the ballot. Of poll respondents, 59% said they had not heard of Allred, while 70% said they didn't know of Gutierrez. At least 90% of respondents said they hadn't heard of 10 of the other candidates.

Whoever wins the primary will likely face incumbent Republican Ted Cruz, who has held the Senate seat since Jan 2013.

In a new poll of 1,200 registered voters, Cruz holds an approval rating of 45%, while 42% said they disapprove of the job he is doing as senator.

While there are some minor fluctuations, Cruz's approval and disapproval ratings have remained somewhat flat over the past several years.

Fellow Sen. John Cornyn's ratings have seen more drastic swings, especially in June 2022 when his approval rating dropped to -26 points, after he helped a bipartisan gun safety bill pass the Senate. President Biden went on to sign that bill into law.

Since then, Cornyn's approval rating has recovered somewhat, but his disapproval rating is still higher. In the new poll, 39% of respondents said they disapprove of his job as a senator, while 30% approve.