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New poll shows key Texas races staying tight as November election gets closer

A new poll from the University of Houston and Texas Southern University shows that many key races in the state are staying close as we approach November.

HOUSTON — Election day is just 60 days away and a new poll from the University of Houston and Texas Southern University is giving a snapshot of where things stand in the state's biggest races.

Texas Governor Race

All of Texas is keeping a close eye on the battle for Texas governor between incumbent Republican Greg Abbott and Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke.

The UH-TSU poll shows Abbott holding on to a seven-point lead over O'Rourke.

RELATED: Gov. Greg Abbott, Beto O’Rourke agree to debate Sept. 30 in Edinburg

"It's a close race," said KHOU 11 political analyst Bob Stein. "Spectacularly closer than I would have thought."

Stein says it's likely a lot closer than Abbott would have predicted too.

"What he's confronting right now, is there are too few Republicans and too many Democrats," Stein said. "We're seeing a dramatic increase in voter registration."

Abbott and O'Rourke are hitting the TV airwaves in hopes of turning out votes. The governor's ads tend to focus on crime, while O'Rourke is targeting Abbott over abortion rights. Plenty of outside groups are going on air with ads too, in addition to the millions of dollars spent by the campaigns themselves.

"Could Beto win? Yes, but he'll need a lot of help," Stein said. "My guess is he loses, and loses in a close race."

Texas Lt. Governor Race

The race for Lt. Governor is also staying close. Incumbent Republican Dan Patrick is holding on to a six-point lead over Democrat Mike Collier in the UH-TSU poll.

This past week, two Republicans -- a sitting county judge and a state senator -- voiced their support for Collier over Patrick.

RELATED: Democratic Texas state senator endorses Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick for reelection

RELATED: Another Republican throws their support behind the Democrat running against Dan Patrick in the race for Texas Lt. Governor

Texas Attorney General Race

The closest race by far is Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's battle to stay in office against Democrat Rochelle Garza. Garza is only trailing the embattled attorney general by three points in the UH-TSU poll, with 10% of those polled still undecided.

"Paxton has a lot of problems," Stein said. "If there's going to be an upset, my money will be on the AG's race with Paxton."

Harris County Judge Race

The polling shows incumbent Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, a Democrat, has jumped out to a 10-point lead over Republican challenger Alexandra del moral Mealer. That's an improvement for Hidalgo since July when she was holding a narrow one-point lead.

"Voters in Harris County are coming back to the fundamentals this is a blue county," Stein said. "My sense is she's relatively safe."

Stein said there's still a lot of time for things to change heading into the Nov. 5 election. What is clear is that all these races are a lot closer than both Republicans and Democrats may have expected over the summer.

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