Republican Nominee Leads By Only 6 Points in Nation’s Largest Red State
A majority of Republican voters in Texas — 61 percent — believe the state should secede from the Union if GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump loses the presidential race to Democrat Hillary Clinton in November.Â
And an even larger majority of GOP voters in the Lone Star State — 71 percent — believe that if Trump loses, it will be because the election was “rigged.”Â
Those were among the results of a survey released Tuesday by Public Policy Polling, which also showed that Trump has only a six-point lead in the nation’s largest red state. GOP nominee Mitt Romney won Texas by 16 points in 2012. From PPP:Â
Trump’s lead is based entirely on his holding a 63-33 advantage among seniors. With voters under 65, Clinton leads him 49-45. And when you look just specifically at voters under 45, Clinton leads Trump 60-35. Older voters are overwhelmingly responsible for the Republican advantage in Texas, and generational change is likely to help Democrats become more competitive.
A big piece of that generational change is the increasing racial diversity of the electorate in Texas. Trump has a 69/25 lead with white voters but the reason the state’s so competitive overall is that among non-white voters Clinton has a 73-21 lead, including a 68-27 edge with the state’s booming Hispanic population.Â
On one hand, that’s good news, but on the other, the poll serves to underscore just how extreme the Texas Republican Party — which has a stranglehold on power in the state — has become. Â
In addition to the 71 percent who believe Trump will only lose if the election is rigged, 40 percent of his supporters in Texas think ACORN, which no longer even exists, will steal the election for Clinton.Â
“Trump’s suggestions that the election will be stolen on Hillary Clinton’s behalf are getting lapped up by almost all of his supporters,†PPP President Dean Debnam said. “It really exemplifies the cult like aspect of his support.â€
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