U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has taken a massive hit in a new favorability poll among likely Texas voters. More than 60 percent of those polled said they had an unfavorable opinion of the freshman senator. The poll also shows the incumbent senator in a statistical tie in a hypothetical race against Democrat U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro.
Perhaps most revealing in the KTVT-CBS 11/Dixie Strategies Poll released Thursday evening is the response to the question asking if the respondent’s view of Senator Cruz had changed since his decision to not endorse the GOP presidential nominee, Donald Trump, during the Republican National Convention in July. Over 53 percent of those polled said their opinion of Cruz was either somewhat less favorable or much less favorable following the decision not to endorse Trump. Just over 27 percent of those polled said their opinion of the senator was either somewhat more favorable or much more favorable.
Even among those respondents who identified themselves as “very conservative,” Cruz’ core base of support, over 50 percent said the senator’s decision not to endorse Trump left them with either a much less favorable or somewhat less favorable opinion of him. Among people who identified themselves as “somewhat conservative,” the move was even stronger with nearly 57 percent saying the decision moved them in a negative direction. – READ MORE
