Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney holds a safe lead in the U.S. state of Texas, with a support rate of 58 percent against President Barack Obama's 39 percent, a new poll released Tuesday shows.

The non-partisan Texas Lyceum Poll finds that among likely voters, 58 percent would vote for Romney and Paul Ryan. Thirty- nine percent would vote for Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.

Republican Ted Cruz also leads Democrat Paul Sadler by 24 points on the U.S. Senate ballot, according to the poll which was conducted September 10-26.

When asked about the direction the country is headed, 42 percent of the surveyed believe that the country is moving in the right direction, while 51 percent believe that they are off on the wrong track.

Looking at personal economic evaluations, equal proportions of the surveyed said they were better and worse off than they were a year ago, both at 24 percent, while 50 percent said that they were doing about the same.

1st U.S. presidential debate a"make-or-break moment" for challenger Romney?

The stakes are high for Mitt Romney in Wednesday's U.S. presidential debate, as the Republican challenger cannot afford a mediocre performance in a race where he lags behind nationally by nearly four points, analysts say.

Obama expected to do better in first U.S. presidential debate

A majority of U.S. voters expect President Barack Obama to do a better job than his Republican challenger Mitt Romney in the first presidential debate, to be held on Wednesday in Denver, Colorado almost a month ahead of the November showdown, according to a poll by the Pew Research Center released on Tuesday.

Obama leaves Washington for three-day debate pre

U.S. President Barack Obama on Sunday left Washington for Nevada, where he will remain for the next three days, prepping for the first presidential debate against Republican challenger Mitt Romney next Wednesday.