September 26, 2014 4:32 PM

Internal poll shows Arlington House race could be one to watch

Democratic underdog releases poll that shows a competitive race for outgoing Rep. Diane Patrick's seat

A reliably Republican Texas House district in North Texas could be up for grabs if there’s validity to a new internal poll released to the Quorum Report by the Democrat in the race. It’s one of those classic situations where we hear that the contest could be quite competitive if, and that’s a big if, the Democrat is able to get his message out to voters.

Incumbent Rep. Diane Patrick lost her GOP primary to Tea Party challenger Tony Tinderholt, who has given pause to some local Republican leaders. Tinderholt faces Democratic businessman Cole Ballweg in November.

The poll released by Ballweg’s campaign showed that when voters were told positive things about both candidates, Tinderholt’s structural lead as the Republican shrank to a statistical dead heat.