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President Trump and Joe Biden are in a tight race in Texas, with the former vice president trailing by just a point, according to a Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday.
Why it matters: Changing demographics in the state have made it a key target for Democrats in future presidential cycles, forcing the GOP to weigh how it can be more inclusive and keep its hold on the Lone Star State and its 38 electoral votes.
By the numbers: The poll put Trump at 44% and Biden at 43% among registered voters in the state.
- Respondents favored Trump on handling the economy (54% to 40%) but thought Biden would be better at handling health care (49% to 43%).
- Both candidates were in the red in terms of their net favorability ratings, however, with Trump at -8 and Biden at -7.
Of note: The poll also showed that 59% of Texan voters support expanding mail-in voting access during the coronavirus pandemic.
- Both a federal appeals court and the Texas Supreme Court have blocked a request by the state's Republican attorney general to expand mail-in voting to all Texas citizens.
- Trump has expressed unsubstantiated concerns of mail-in ballots being susceptible to voter fraud, which led Twitter to issue a fact-check against him for the first time last week.
Methodology: 1,166 self-identified registered voters in Texas were surveyed from May 28 to June 1 with a margin of error of ±2.9 percentage points.