EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) -- The State of Texas is about a month away from witnessing another closer-than-expected race between U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.  Cruz is the incumbent candidate who has been serving as a U.S. senator since 2013. Last election cycle, he was nearly unseated by former U.S. Rep Beto O'Rourke who narrowly lost the election by 3 percent.  This cycle, Cruz faces another challenging Democrat who recent polls show is closing the gap in the final stretch before Nov. 5.  According to Emmerson College Polling, Cruz is leading by 49 percent with Allred trailing at 45 percent. The Texas survey was conducted Sept. 22-24 with a margin of error of about 3.1 percentage points.  “What you're really looking at is this deficit in just sheer numbers, right? So, it's about the population of the state that are committed Republican voters. You'd also have to get conversions, and I think that's one of the challenges,” said Dr. Richard Pineda, director of UTEP’s Sam Donaldson Center.  Pineda said while new polls show a closer race than some may have anticipated, he doesn’t expect any surprises and believes Cruz will be re-elected – just not without a challenge. He encourages El Pasoans to still vote for who they believe is the best candidate given whoever is elected has a voice on the federal level that can eventually trickle down to local legislation.  “For folks in the El Paso community, who they cast and who wins in this U.S. Senate seat will have some potential implication on, immigration legislation in the in this next presidential term, regardless of who gets elected,” Pineda said.  The last time a Democrat was elected to a statewide office was 1993. Senators serve six-year terms and do not have term limits.