Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker continues to surge in the polls.

Newly released data shows he’s made significant inroads in Texas. So much so, he’s locked in a statistical tie with the state’s U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

In October, Cruz enjoyed a 25-point lead over Walker, but a new University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll finds that lead is erased.

The junior U.S. senator “won the support of 20% of the state’s registered voters to Walker’s 19 percent,” the Tribune reports.

Jeb Bush and author Ben Carson were tied at 9%, and Rick Perry – the state’s recent governor – was fifth with 8%.

“Scott Walker is clearly breathing some of the oxygen on the right. The big takeaway here is that Ted Cruz is still a giant among Texas Republicans — but he is not invulnerable,” says the poll’s director, Jim Henson.

“Conservatives are willing to look at another candidate who fits that profile.”

The pollsters note this is the first significant shift of potential 2016 presidential candidates.

“It clearly is a jumble,” poll co-director Daron Shaw, a professor of government at UT-Austin, tells the news site. “Cruz continues to distinguish himself as the Texas candidate, but Walker has made a move — we have a momentum candidate.”

The rash of hit pieces by the mainstream media, combined with Walker’s breakout speech at the Iowa Freedom Summit in January will likely only strengthen his position.

Here’s that speech: