Sen. Ted Cruz will be looking for some home-cooking in the Texas GOP primary next week and a poll released Tuesday shows him leading the Republican presidential field in his political backyard.
The University of Texas/ Texas Tribune poll found that Mr. Cruz has the support of 37 percent of likely GOP primary voters in Texas, followed by businessman Donald Trump, 29 percent, and Sen. Marco Rubio, 15 percent.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson are lagging well behind at 5 percent and 4 percent.
Conducted between Feb 12. and Feb. 19, the polls also showed Jeb Bush at 5 percent, although the former Florida governor dropped out following the Feb. 20 South Carolina primary.
Mr. Cruz finished third in South Carolina behind Mr. Trump and Mr. Rubio, and has long held that the Super Tuesday contests on March 1 are key to his chances of winning the GOP nomination — in part because they include the Texas contest, where 155 delegates are up for grabs.
A loss there would be a major blow to his campaign.
Mr. Rubio led with 36 percent among poll respondents who said the most important thing is to “give the Republican Party a good chance to win in November,” while 20 percent picked Mr. Cruz and 13 percent Mr. Trump.
Meanwhile, Mr. Trump, 19 percent, and Mr. Cruz, 18 percent, came out on top with respondents looking to “shake up politics-as-usual,” compared to 2 percent for Mr. Rubio.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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