Republican incumbents Cruz and Fischer narrowly lead in Senate races in Texas and Nebraska: polls

New polls have found Senators Ted Cruz and Deb Fischer narrowly ahead of Democrats and independent challengers in their respective Senate races in Texas and Nebraska.

According to a New York Times-Siena College poll of 1,180 likely voters in Texas, Cruz leads Democrat Colin Allred 50% to 46%. Allred, a current House member and former NFL player, spoke out in support of Vice President Harris at a rally in Houston last Friday.

In Nebraska, Republican Deb Fischer leads her independent opponent Dan Osborn 48% to 46%, with 5% of the 1,194 likely voters surveyed there saying they were undecided or refusing to answer.

Both the Texas and Nebraska polls were conducted by telephone between October 23 and 26 and have a margin of error of about three percentage points.

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Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., are in a tight race for their Senate seats.

The last time Cruz was challenged for his Senate seat in Texas was in 2018, when he defeated Democrat Beto O'Rourke with three percent of the vote.

In this contest, Allred leads Harris among likely voters.

The results show that 46% of the Texas population supports Allred, compared to 42% for Harris, according to the New York Times.

Allred is ahead of Harris with 76% to 71% among black voters and also ahead of Harris among Hispanic voters (56% to 50%), the newspaper reported.

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Texas Democratic Senate candidate Colin Allred reacts at a campaign rally for Vice President Kamala Harris in Houston, Texas, on October 25. (Reuters/Marco Bello)

For the Nebraska race, Osborn — a union leader and mechanic — leads Fischer by 31% among independent voters, the New York Times reported, adding that Harris leads Trump by 10% among independent voters in that state lies.

The Senate Leadership Fund, allied with Mitch McConnell, recently launched a $3 million ad buy in the state to bolster Fischer's support.

In addition, Fischer is receiving help from well-known top Republican Senator Chuck Grassley from neighboring Iowa. In a new radio spot, he tells voters, “That's your neighbor Chuck Grassley,” adding, “My friend Deb Fischer needs your vote.”

Independent Dan Osborn, a challenger to two-term Republican Sen. Deb Fischer, chats with guests at a brewery in Beatrice, Nebraska, on July 30. (AP/Margery Beck)

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Osborn's popularity in Nebraska seemed to surprise the Fischer campaign, given what appeared to be a last-minute effort to shore up her support. It is often difficult for independent candidates to prevail, especially against an incumbent. However, without a Democratic candidate in this Senate race, Osborn has a much larger pool of potential voters.

Fox News' Julia Johnson contributed to this report.