Beto O'Rourke is within 5 points of Ted Cruz in Senate race, poll finds

The latest UT/Texas Tribune poll shows Ted Cruz and Beto O'Rourke within five points of each other in race for Texas' Senate seat.

See what you need to know about Ted Cruz's Democrat challenger. The latest UT/Texas Tribune poll shows Ted Cruz and Beto O'Rourke within five points of each other in race for Texas' Senate seat.

See what you need to know about Ted Cruz's Democrat challenger. Photo: File, Staff / Houston Chronicle Photo: File, Staff / Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 29 Caption Close Beto O'Rourke is within 5 points of Ted Cruz in Senate race, poll finds 1 / 29 Back to Gallery

Senator Ted Cruz leads El Paso Congressman Beto O'Rourke by five points in the race for Texas' Senate seat, the latest University of Texas and Texas Tribune poll finds.

Cruz holds 41 percent of the vote while O'Rourke holds 36 percent, a U.S. Senate trial ballot that surveyed 1,200 registered voters from June 8 to June 17 found.

Seventeen percent of those surveyed had no opinion.

A RealClear Politics average of multiple polls, including this week's UT/Texas Tribune survey, shows Cruz leading by an 8.2 point spread.

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Earlier this month during a speech at the Republican Party of Texas Convention, Senator Cruz pointed to O'Rourke's campaign as an example of the so-called blue wave.

"He is raising more money than any Democrat in the entire country," Cruz said at the time. "Last quarter I raised $3.2 million - most of any Republican incumbent in the country. Last quarter he raised $6.7 million - more than two times as much as we did. The hard left is angry. They're energized. They hate the president and they're coming for Texas."

Fernando.ramirez@chron.com

Twitter.com/fernramirez93