Most Democratic voters in Texas would rather see former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) challenge John CornynJohn CornynSenate headed for late night vote amid standoff over lands bill Koch-backed group launches ad campaign to support four vulnerable GOP senators Tim Scott to introduce GOP police reform bill next week MORE for his Senate seat in 2020 than continue his run for the White House, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday.
Sixty percent of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters said the former Texas congressman should abandon his presidential ambitions for 2020 and pursue Cornyn’s Senate seat instead.
Less than half as many respondents — 27 percent — said he should continue his run for the White House, the poll found.
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O’Rourke also placed second among the slate of candidates running for the Democratic presidential nomination, taking 16 percent support of those polled. The figure is roughly half as much as that of frontrunner and former Vice President Joe BidenJoe BidenHillicon Valley: Biden calls on Facebook to change political speech rules | Dems demand hearings after Georgia election chaos | Microsoft stops selling facial recognition tech to police Trump finalizing executive order calling on police to use ‘force with compassion’ The Hill’s Campaign Report: Biden campaign goes on offensive against Facebook MORE’s, who notched 30 percent support in the Quinnipiac poll.
Still, Sen. Bernie SandersBernie SandersThe Hill’s 12:30 Report: Milley apologizes for church photo-op Harris grapples with defund the police movement amid veep talk Biden courts younger voters — who have been a weakness MORE (I-Vt.) trails O’Rourke in the poll by only 1 point, well within the poll’s 5.8 percent margin of error for Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters.
O’Rourke gained national prominence last year during his closely watched, though unsuccessful, bid to oust Sen. Ted CruzRafael (Ted) Edward CruzSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote The Hill’s Morning Report – Trump’s public standing sags after Floyd protests GOP senators introduce resolution opposing calls to defund the police MORE (R-Texas). The close race ultimately prompted speculation over whether O’Rourke would jump into the presidential race or mount a second Senate bid in 2020 against Cornyn, who is up for re-election.
O’Rourke announced in March that he would seek the Democratic presidential nomination, quashing hopes of a Senate campaign. So far, a handful of Democrats have jumped into the race to challenge Cornyn, including M.J. Hegar, a retired Air Force major and former House candidate.
But O’Rourke’s campaign has struggled to gain the same kind of traction that his 2018 Senate bid did, lingering in the low single digits in recent national polls.
In recent weeks, he has appeared more frequently on national television and has rolled out a handful of policy proposals, as he looks to regain momentum in the primary contest.
The Quinnipiac poll was conducted from May 29-June 4, among 1,159 Texas voters and includes surveys of 407 Democratic and Democratic leaning voters in the state.