UT Tyler poll shows issues voters care about

TYLER – The University of Texas at Tyler Center for Opinion Research recently surveyed 1,252 Texas voters about their views on the first month of the Trump administration and policy priorities of the state legislature. The poll conducted Feb. 20–27 found the voters starkly disagree on party lines about how policies should be addressed, but voters see the state of the economy through the same lens, according to Dr. Ken Wink, UT Tyler professor and poll director.

“At first glance, it may appear that the honeymoon period for candidates who won elections in 2024 may already be over, even though Donald Trump won Texas by more votes than any of his prior campaigns,” said Wink. In this poll he said, slightly fewer voters approve of how Donald Trump is handling his job as president (44%-53%) than at the end of his first term (47%-48%). Trump is still performing well on two key policy areas, he noted.

“First, a majority of voters approve of President Trump’s handling of the economy (53%-43%). Furthermore, when voters are focused on the economy or border security, Trump’s approval is statistically equal to that of Gov. Greg Abbott, which is a good sign for the president,” Wink said.

“After the election, favorability ratings for Sen. Ted Cruz (44% favorable, 47% unfavorable) are no better than in October 2024 (46%-48%).”

Most voters are split between whether the top issue of concern for Texas is border security (24%) or the rising cost of goods and services (23%), according to the survey. Wink said it is also clear that voter attitudes are still taking shape about the work of the Department of Government Efficiency, a new entity headed by Elon Musk. Most Texans approve of actions taken by DOGE (51%-38%), but
75% of Democratic voters and 40% of independent voters disapprove.

As to whether Texas will adopt a similar strategy, Wink said, “It is clear there is support among Texans to evaluate programs for efficiency in Texas like DOGE is doing for the federal government with 60% support and 24% oppose.”

Trump Administration Priorities
On the ending of diversity programs Wink noted voters were divided, with 33% responding that the Trump administration is giving too much attention to this effort, 38% saying that the administration was spending the right amount of attention to this issue, and 19% stating that too little attention had been given to the issue.

“Most Republicans in Texas (58%) are fine with the quick effort to review diversity, equity and inclusion programs, with an additional 15% of Republicans asking for even more to be done. However, Democrats (51%) and Independents (35%) mostly see this issue as a distraction for the
government,” Wink said.

Border Security and Immigration
Attention to border security in Texas has centered on actions related to Operation Lonestar. “At the time of the poll, this issue was back in the news as Gov. Abbott and U.S. Rep. Roger Williams requested the federal government reimburse Texas for state actions at the border,” Wink said. “The
expansion of border security efforts is certainly something that is more positive for Republicans, who believe that it is the top issue (40%) compared to Democrats (7%) and Independents (12%).”

As leaders plan to shift Operation Lonestar to aid the federal government’s response to immigration, the poll found a 60%-25% majority of Texans support Texas renewing efforts to provide bus travel to ICE centers instead of large cities across the country. About the same share of voters (58%-33%) believe the state should continue deploying the Texas National Guard and officers from the Texas Department of Public Safety to help monitor the border, Wink noted.

“A slim majority (51%-42%) want to see Texas appropriate money to extend the border wall. This support has been stable over time and is two percent higher than during the legislative session two years ago when President Biden was in office,” he added.

Tariffs and Inflation
Ahead of expected tariffs on imported goods, the poll shows inflation is a bipartisan concern, with a quarter of Democrats and a quarter of Republicans indicating that inflation is their issue of most concern. “The bipartisan concern about inflation is reflected in the broad agreement that higher prices have affected Texans similarly based on race and party. It was also a widely held view that the economy had gotten worse in the past year,” Wink said.

The public’s concern for the Texas electric grid has been clear and stable for years, according to Wink. “Voters overwhelmingly believe that Texas should focus on improving its own ability to produce electricity instead of sharing with neighboring grids (70%-22%). This is the same margin we found weeks after Winter Storm Uri, when temperatures in Texas plunged below freezing four years ago,” Wink said. As for public confidence in the Texas electricity grid in the months after the storm, public confidence was 10% lower than it is today; nonetheless, since February 2022, one year after the storm –– almost half of the public has not been confident Texas will avoid future blackouts (49%
confident, 48% not confident in this poll), he added.

State Legislature Policy Priorities
The survey also covered public support for many of the emergency items that Gov. Abbott laid out in his address to the legislature. More Texans support the education savings account program than oppose it (54%-31%).

The poll offers further insights to voter attitudes about abortion policy in the state, tax relief, infrastructure and cannabis regulation, Wink said, noting it also includes support for allowing time for prayer in school (56% approve, 28% disapprove) and disapproval of placing the 10 commandments in public school classrooms (40% approve, 43% disapprove). The poll also finds Texans support the introduction of sports betting and casinos in the state. “The public’s belief that this will help improve Texas’s economy is still as high as it was four years ago in 2021 –– 67% believe it will improve the economy a fair amount or a great deal,” Wink said.

According to the poll, Texas voters also believe Texas Republicans are more likely than Texas Democrats to handle most issues like reducing crime (Republicans +26%), securing the border (Republicans +47%), handling the electricity grid (Republicans +8%), improving higher education (Republicans +3%), and improving school safety (Republicans +15%). However, Texas voters give the
advantage to Texas Democrats in improving K-12 education (Democrats +2%), Wink noted.

“Lastly, Texans heavily favor a ‘tough on crime’ approach to handling gun violence,” Wink added. “Seventy percent of Texans favor a little or a great deal a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison for using an illegal firearm, while only 24% oppose this sentence a little or a great deal.”

With a mission to improve educational and health care outcomes for East Texas and beyond, UT Tyler offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 10,000 students.

Through its alignment with UT Tyler Health Science Center and UT Health East Texas, UT Tyler has unified these entities to serve Texas with quality education, cutting-edge research and excellent patient care. Classified by Carnegie as a doctoral research institution and by U.S. News & World Report as a national university, UT Tyler has campuses in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston