Beto O’Rourke or Joe Biden would make Texas tight in 2020, poll shows

FILE - In this Feb. 15, 2019, file photo Beto O'Rourke tells reporters he plans to make a decision soon on whether to get in the race for president in Madison, Wis. O'Rourke says he has made up his mind about a 2020 presidential run and will announce his intentions "soon." (AP Photo/Scott Bauer) less FILE - In this Feb. 15, 2019, file photo Beto O'Rourke tells reporters he plans to make a decision soon on whether to get in the race for president in Madison, Wis. O'Rourke says he has made up his mind about a ... more Photo: Scott Bauer, STF / Associated Press Photo: Scott Bauer, STF / Associated Press Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Beto O’Rourke or Joe Biden would make Texas tight in 2020, poll shows 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

Texas would be closer to a toss-up in the 2020 presidential campaign if either Joe Biden or Beto O’Rourke were the Democratic nominee against President Donald Trump, a new poll of Texas voters shows.

In a hypothetical matchup, Trump is ahead of O’Rourke by a single percentage point, 47 to 46, the survey of 1,222 voters polled by Quinnipiac University shows. Trump would also have a 47 to 46 percent advantage over Biden.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders is not far behind. Trump leads Sanders in a potential matchup 47 percent to 45 percent.

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The poll's margin of error is 3.4 percent and there are 4 to 5 percent undecideds in all three matchups, all of which suggests Texas is essentially a toss up in 2020, according to this one super- early poll.

A Democrat has not won Texas in the presidential election since Jimmy Carter in 1976.

Neither Biden nor O’Rourke has announced whether he will seek the White House yet. O’Rourke said on Wednesday that he has made a decision but did not announce if he will run.

While the poll showed Trump with a narrow lead, O’Rourke does well among independent voters. According to the poll, 48 percent would go with O’Rourke, versus 41 percent going with Trump.

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Former San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro doesn’t fare as well in a potential head-to-head match up with Trump in the poll that was conducted from Feb. 20 to Feb. 25. Castro would win 41 percent of the vote, compared to 46 percent for Trump, the poll found.

If O’Rourke ran for Senate instead, the poll shows it would also be a dead heat. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and O’Rourke would both win 46 percent of the vote in such a matchup in 2020, with 6 percent saying they do not know who they would pick.

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