Cruz may enjoy a home-field advantage in Texas on Super Tuesday

AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- Texas Sen. Ted Cruz may enjoy a boost from his home state come Super Tuesday, according to two new polls that show him ahead of Donald Trump.

A University of Texas and Texas Tribune poll released Wednesday shows Cruz leading in the Texas Republican primary with 37 percent of the vote. That's compared with Trump, who lags eight points behind at 29 percent. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., comes in third with 15 percent, while Ohio Gov. John Kasich polls at 5 percent and Dr. Ben Carson polls at 4 percent.

Another poll released Wednesday by the Emerson Polling Society shows Cruz with a more narrow 1 point lead over Trump.

Cruz also garnered the endorsement of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday. Cruz served as Texas' solicitor general while Abbott was in office as the state's attorney general.

Cruz has made much ado of his lack of support among elected officials, which makes Abbott's endorsement somewhat high profile.

Texas may be one of the only Super Tuesday states where Trump does not enjoy a comfortable lead. Among the more than dozen states that hold primaries on March 1, Trump leads handily in Georgia, Massachusetts and Oklahoma, according to RealClear Politics.