New polls show Senators Ted Cruz and Deb Fischer hold narrow leads over Democrats and independent challengers in the Texas and Nebraska Senate races.

A New York Times and Siena College poll of 1,180 likely voters in Texas shows Cruz leading Democrat Colin Allred by 50 to 46 percent. Current House representative and former NFL player Allred spoke in support of Vice President Harris at a rally in Houston last Friday.

In Nebraska, Republican Deb Fischer leads independent challenger Dan Osborn 48 to 46 percent, while 5 percent of 1,194 likely voters surveyed say they are undecided or decline to answer.

Both the Texas and Nebraska polls were conducted by telephone from October 23 to 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 Senate seats.

The last time Cruz was challenged Senate seat In Texas, he defeated Democrat Beto O’Rourke in 2018 by three percent of the vote.

In this contest, Allred is polling ahead of Harris among likely voters.

The results show Allred has 46% support from Texas residents, compared to Harris’ 42%. New York Times.

Allred leads Harris among black voters 76% compared to 71% and 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 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 this state.

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

Fischer also has help from prominent top Republican Senator Chuck Grassley from neighboring Iowa. “This is your neighbor Chuck Grassley,” he tells voters in a new radio ad, 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, Neb., on July 30. (AP/Margery Beck)

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Osborn’s popularity in Nebraska appears to have taken Fischer’s campaign by surprise, given his last-minute efforts to shore up his support. It is often difficult for independent candidates to gain traction, especially against the incumbent. But since there is no Democratic candidate nominated in the Senate race, Osborn has a much larger pool of potential voters.

Fox News’ Julia Johnson contributed to this report.