Washington (CNN) In the race for Texas' Senate seat, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz continues to hold a 9-point lead over Democratic challenger Rep. Beto O'Rourke, according to a poll released Thursday.

In the Quinnipiac University poll , 54% of likely voters in Texas said they would vote for Cruz and 45% said they would vote for O'Rourke. Cruz's lead has not changed since a similar poll was conducted in September.

The new poll also showed a growing gender divide among Texas likely voters. Support for Cruz from men has increased to 62%, which is up 5 points from polling last month. By contrast, a majority of women (52%) now say they support O'Rourke, up 4 points since September.

Cruz holds a slightly higher favorability rating among likely voters with 52% of them saying they view them favorably. O'Rourke's favorability has increased slightly since September, but still remains lower than Cruz's at 45%.

O'Rourke leads Cruz with both black (84%) and Hispanic (61%) voters while Cruz maintains an edge with white voters (69%).

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