Republican John McCain has only a 5 percentage point lead over Democratic presidential rival Barack Obama in Texas, President Bush's home state, a new poll reveals.
The survey conducted for the Texas Lyceum, a nonpartisan leadership group, found McCain with 43 percent of the vote and Obama with 38 percent.
Democrats took heart in the narrowness of McCain’s lead in a state that has been dominated by the GOP for a decade.
Pollster Daron Shaw said the results “reflect heightened enthusiasm among Democrats with Mr. Obama’s historic candidacy topping the ticket,” the Dallas Morning News reported.
Republicans complained that the poll oversampled Democrats in a reliably red state.
The survey of likely voters also showed Republican Sen. John Cornyn with a 2 percentage point lead over Democratic challenger Rick Noriega.