Rick Perry may have held the highest office in Texas for more than a decade, but it seems that his floundering campaign for the Presidency has brought him down in his home state as well. A new University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll has businessman Herman Cain up by a single point among Texas Republicans, 27 – 26. The next closest candidate is fellow Texan Rep. Ron Paul at 12 percent.
Though they’re statistically tied — Cain’s lead over Perry is well within the survey’s margin of error — the former executive leads Perry among rural voters in Texas, and has a smaller lead among suburban Republicans. Perry has a 2-point edge over Cain in urban Texas. Break that down a little more and the poll found Cain with a big lead over Perry in Houston and in Austin, while Perry had smaller advantages over Cain and the other Republicans in Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio.
“Maybe the most important number is that Cain is up 37 percent to 24 percent among the most conservative voters,” said Daron Shaw, co-director of the poll and a UT government professor. “Perry wins with every other group.”
