A new poll taken after the results of the South Carolina Republican primary came in shows that Cruz’ once dominating lead in Texas has dwindled down to a one point lead over New York businessman Donald Trump. Marco Rubio has pulled up to a close third place in the poll.
The poll released on Wednesday, less than one week before the Texas GOP primary, shows the lead that Ted Cruz previously held has fallen from 39 percent to 29 percent. Cruz’s previous Texas numbers were taken before the South Carolina GOP primary which was held last Saturday.
The University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll reported by Breitbart Texas on Tuesday showed Cruz with a solid eight-point lead over Trump. Rubio was only polling at 8 percent in that poll. Cruz received the support of 37 percent of those polled, Trump polled at 29 percent and Rubio was at 8 percent.
The poll released on Wednesday was conducted by the Emerson College Polling Society after the South Carolina debate. It was taken from a sample of 446 likely GOP primary voters over a three-day period that began on February 21. The margin of error of +/- 4.6 percent means that all three of the top tier of the GOP candidates are in a virtual tie.
Cruz still leads with 29 percent of those polled. Trump polled at 28 percent in the new poll. Florida Senator Rubio jumped to a solid third place position at 25 percent. The remaining candidates, Ohio Governor John Kasich and Dr. Ben Carson came in at nine and four percent respectively.
The poll also revealed that Donald Trump has the strongest loyalty among Texas voters. 56 percent of those responding a favorable impression of Trump said they would vote for him. Cruz’ numbers in this category came in at 50 percent and Rubio had a loyalty rating of 36 percent.
Male voters perferred Cruz, but only by one percent over Trump. Cruz and Rubio are tied with female voters at 28 percent while Trump is supported in the poll by 26 percent of females.
The Emerson poll shows Rubio as the most positive candidate with a favorable rating of 64 percent. That is followed by Cruz at 56 percent favorable and Trump at 45 percent favorable. The unfavorable ratings on the top tier of candidates shows Trump leading at 50 percent unfavorable. This is followed by Cruz at 41 percent and Rubio at 29 percent.
In the Democrat Primary in Texas, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leads by 16 points over her challenger Bernie Sanders — 56-40 percent.
Note: This article has been updated with additional information.
Bob Price is a senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas and a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. He is also a Life Member of the NRA. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.