A new poll, released Thursday, shows that despite the volatility of the administration in Washington, Texas Republicans remain supportive of President Donald Trump. The UT/TT poll, conducted by the Texas Tribune and the University of Texas, found that Texans’ opinions of the president are largely unchanged since the group’s last round of polling, conducted in June.
Jim Henson, co-director of the poll and head of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin says the president’s overall job approval rating in Texas is at 45 percent, with a disapproval rating of 50 percent. A closer look at the numbers shows that 79 percent of Republican voters in Texas back Trump. And that support appears to bridge the ideological split between pro-business conservatives and social conservatives, that so animates state politics. Most who identify as members of the GOP support Trump.
Henson says 33 percent of Texans approve of Trump’s handling of relations with Congress, while 46 percent disapprove. Among Republicans, the approval rating is 57 percent. Henson says the lower numbers reflect dissatisfaction with the president’s handling of efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Democrats, unsurprisingly, do not approve of the president’s performance in office.
“What really unites Democrats right now is their dislike and their disapproval of Trump [on the issues,]” Henson says.
But anti-Trump passion may not be enough for Democrats to change their electoral fortunes in Texas. Henson says Congressman Beto O’Rourke’s challenge to Sen. Ted Cruz remains a long-shot.
“Cruz’s assets are completely intact,” Henson says. “He’s still got a 66 percent approval rating… O’Rourke is building his war chest, but it’s not permeating the public. His numbers are static from where he was…in June.”
Written by Shelly Brisbin.
