Scrutinel— 2026 midterms

UpdatedOct 10, 2026, 11:27 AM EDT
To election day24 days
Simulations200,000

Texas — Governor

Currently held by a Republican · incumbent running

Democrat
Gina Hinojosa
32%
Republican
Greg Abbott
68%
ForecastLean R
Projected margin
R+3.1
80% range
R+11.5 to D+5.3
Partisan lean
R+11.5
Uncertainty multiplier
1.07×

The 80% range comes from 200,000 simulations in which this race’s error is correlated with every other race through the national, state and demographic layers.

How the estimate is built
Polls 69%Fundamentals 31%
Polling average
R+1.2
Fundamentals
R+8.7
Blended
R+2.9
Similar-race shift
+0.3
Poll–fundamentals gap
7.4 pts
PollingDR matchup
Polls in window
22
Distinct pollsters
15
Most recent
September 30, 2026
Democrat
47.0%
Republican
48.2%
Undecided / other
4.8%
Spread between polls
2.4 pts
Fundamentals
Partisan lean
R+11.5
Elasticity
1.10
Incumbency
−5.0
Candidate experience
0.0
Fundraising
0.0
National environment
D+7.1
Expected margin
R+9.0
The polls behind this number15 most recent of 22 in the window
PollsterDatesSampleDRMargin
The New York Times/Siena UniversitySeptember 30, 2026605 LV4946D+3
University of Massachusetts Lowell Center for Public Opinion/YouGovSeptember 28, 2026850 LV4548R+3
Guidant Polling and StrategySeptember 28, 2026800 LV4846D+2
Beacon Research/Shaw & Co. ResearchSeptember 28, 2026881 LV4752R+5
Slingshot StrategiesSeptember 22, 20261,007 LV4850R+2
Texas Southern University Barbara Jordan Public Policy Research and Survey CenterSeptember 19, 20261,800 LV4749R+2
Emerson CollegeSeptember 14, 20261,000 LV4849R+1
ReconMR/Siena UniversitySeptember 11, 2026614 LV4945D+4
YouGovSeptember 4, 20261,000 RV4747D+0
Fabrizio Ward/Impact ResearchSeptember 1, 2026895 LV4649R+3
Slingshot StrategiesAugust 24, 20261,000 LV4349R+6
The Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin/YouGovAugust 13, 20261,218 RV4345R+2
Emerson CollegeAugust 10, 20261,000 LV4549R+4
CygnalREPJuly 31, 2026800 LV4649R+3
Wedgewood PollsJuly 31, 2026800 LV4450R+6

Each poll is weighted by recency, the square root of its sample size and its pollster rating, then adjusted for that firm’s house effect, its sampled population and any partisan sponsorship — so the average above is not the mean of this column.

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