Another poll shows senate race in Texas tied less than 2 weeks from Election Day

Ken Paxton, James Talarico.

The latest polling of Texas voters show the race between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico continues to tighten as Election Day nears. One poll released this week shows the race tied, another shows Talarico with a lead of less than two points. 

A Fox News poll released Wednesday showed Paxton and Talarico tied with 49% support from likely voters. A month ago, the same poll showed Talarico with a two-point edge over Paxton. The race is closely watched given now close polling has shown the two candidates are and that control of the U.S. senate could hinge on the outcome of the election in Texas as well as Michigan. Plus, Talarico is making a run at being the first Democrat in Texas to win a U.S. senate race since the late 1980s.

Another poll from Emerson College that was taken during the same period as the Fox News poll showed Talarico with a 48% to 46% lead over Paxton -- well within the poll's 3.1% margin of error. Five percent of those polled said they remain undecided. Pollsters at Emerson are calling the race "a tossup." A CBS News poll released over the weekend also had the race as a tossup.

Meanwhile, Politix, an online tool that aggregates polling, has the race margin at 1.6 points, with Talarico enjoy a razor-thin edge. All of this come as the polling industry was rocked by a major scandal this week that cast doubt on pollsters ability to accurately survey the public. The people behind a group Wedgewood Polling this week revealed that they had been feeding completely fabricated polling numbers to campaigns and the media. 

Outlets like The New York Times and Decision Desk HQ, among others, figured the Wedgewood Data into their polling aggregation and news coverage. The polling data had an impact on donor contributions and may have caused some candidates to exit races early, according to Fox News. Wedgewood's polling often showed far left Democrats with huge leads. For instance, in Texas, one of Wedgewood's fake polls had Talarico with a 64% to 30% lead over Paxton among Hispanic voters. Wedgewood said it wasn't trying to mislead the public, but was conducting a "social experiment."

Early voting is underway in Texas and Election Day is Nov. 3.