Another poll, and Beto is hanging around his favorite corner, or 42nd Street.

The latest University of Houston poll has Governor Greg Abbott plus 7 over Mr. O'Rourke: 49-42.  A few days ago, The Dallas Morning News had the governor up by 10, or 51-41.  A bit before that, The Texas Tribune had the governor up 45-39.

Do you get the feeling that Governor Abbott is going to get re-elected?  I got a whole bunch of polls that say the same thing going back to January.

Why is O'Rourke stuck in the low 40s?  He is extremely well known and will likely get a gig at MSNBC after he loses this race.

Why is Robert Francis O'Rourke stuck at 42?

First, he has not given Texans a good reason to replace an incumbent governor.  In other words, most Texans are doing quite well and people continue to move here.  Our problem is absorbing all those people who want to live here.

Second, the lights did not go out.  The grid held up despite one of the worst summers in memory.  I'm not saying everything is going well.  We need more plants and energy.  Unfortunately, Beto sounds too much like California on green energy, and we know about the problems in the Golden State.  It's tough to be banging the green tambourine with California going dark and Europe going cold.

Third, 2022 is not 2018, and the GOP was ready for Beto this time.  Governor Abbott hit him hard at every opportunity, from gun control to defunding the police to school choice.  Senator Ted Cruz waited too long to get in the race back in 2018.  Like a well coached hitter, the governor knew what O'Rourke was throwing from day on.

Last but not least, the border is a problem for Beto O'Rourke.  Honestly, he does not know what to say, as we saw in this Texas Tribune report:

"I'm from the border. I understand this," said O'Rourke, who is from El Paso and represented the area in Congress for six years. 

"The people from Texas understand this and I know that we're all looking for a real solution. We're not getting it from Greg Abbott. We're not getting it from the Biden administration either. What we need is leadership." 

What specific leadership?  We don't know yet.

Governor Abbott will get my vote.  He fights for Texas and projects competence.  On the other hand, Beto O'Rourke is fighting for headlines and not being very specific on issues.

So he is going to lose.  It will be 54-45 or 55-44 when the votes are counted.

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Image: Gage Skidmore.