The senior pastor positioned himself as a leader who would represent all Texans in contrast to Cruz. The Democratic primary race has already drawn a congressman, a state senator and a South Texas district attorney.
The latest survey also gave Republican incumbents single-digit leads in two other statewide races. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick led Democrat Mike Collier by 7 points, and Attorney General Ken Paxton registered a 5-point advantage over Democrat Rochelle Garza.
Incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott entered this year with a much larger war chest and still has the financial upper hand in the race. He raised $24.9 million over the same time period.