WASHINGTON _ Beto O'Rourke remains competitive against President Donald Trump in a Texas head-to-head matchup, according to a poll released Thursday by the Center for Opinion Research at the University of Texas, Tyler.
The poll, conducted over three days following last week's debate in Houston, shows O'Rourke polling better against Trump in a head-to-head matchup than every other Democratic contender except former Vice President Joe Biden.
Both led Trump by 2 percentage points in a hypothetical matchup. Four other candidates tested against Trump lagged the president, though Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders trailed by less than the 2.8% margin of error.
O'Rourke's campaign boasted that the results vindicate his stance on gun control. He has caught flak from members of both parties since forcefully demanding mandatory buybacks of assault weapons in the Houston debate.
His gun confiscation proposal drew support from 49% of Texans in the UT-Tyler poll, while other plans drew broader support.
Nearly 85% of those surveyed support universal background checks for gun purchases. A "red flag" law that would allow law enforcement to take guns from someone deemed dangerous drew support from 65%.
Far more Texans support a ban on the sale of assault weapons _ 59% _ that would allow owners to keep guns they already own, compared with the plurality that supports confiscation, which gun rights advocates view as unconstitutional.
O'Rourke has struggled for traction nationally but remains strong in the Texas primary race, with 20% of the state's Democrats picking him as their top choice in the poll released Thursday. At 26%, Biden is the No. 1 pick.
A Quinnipiac University Poll last week showed O'Rourke trailing Biden by 16 points, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren moving ahead of him into second place in Texas, so the UT-Tyler poll provides a glimmer of good news for the former El Paso congressman
Still, there are signs O'Rourke is slipping. A UT-Tyler poll from a month ago showed him and Biden in a statistical tie among Democratic Texas voters.
Sanders and Warren were the only other candidates above 10% in Thursday's poll. Sanders was the first choice for 17%, and Warren was the top pick for 11%.
For self-identified independents who lean Democratic, Biden is the leader by far, with 43% saying he's their first-choice candidate. All other candidates poll around 10% with those same voters in Texas.
Former San Antonio mayor and federal housing secretary Julian Castro registered at 4%.
Trump continues to poll underwater in Texas, showing a 40% job approval rating among all respondents. Approval is much higher among Republicans and much lower among Democrats.
