AUSTIN (NEXSTAR) — More Texans are seeing discouraging signs when it comes to their economic outlook, according to a new poll. Poll from Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas It shows growing skepticism towards individual political leaders and the state of democracy in general.
The poll asked people about their opinions on the state of the economy in Texas. One question asked whether the Texas economy was better or worse than it was one year ago. Nearly half of Texans surveyed, 46%, said the Texas economy is worse, while 26% said it is better.
“There was really no telling us that people saw a bright horizon coming,” said Jim Henson, director of the Texas Policy Project. “I think we found voters in a very anxious, very negative mood.”
Another question that digs deeper into this issue is whether you and your family are better or worse off than you were one year ago. The response showed that 43% of Texans say they are worse off, while 21% say they are better off. More than a third, 35%, said their economic situation is about the same as it was one year ago.
“We’ve seen this number get worse in terms of the proportion of people saying they’re worse off going up, while the proportion of people who are ‘better off’ goes down,” Henson said.
Food and consumer goods prices topped the list of economic issues of concern, with 90% of people surveyed considering them a source of concern. The cost of health care was lagging behind, with 88% of people surveyed citing it as a concern.
The survey included a question asking the name of the most important problem currently facing the state of Texas. The highest answer was political/leadership corruption at 18%. The rate of inflation and price increases reached 14%, while 9% in the survey listed immigration as the issue of most concern.
“Break it down by party, and what you see is that the vast majority of these people who say political and leadership corruption are Democrats, and it’s very much a function of partisanship,” Hinson said.
Texas Governor Ken Paxton has launched a Senate primary challenge against Republican Senator John Cornyn
The survey asked a series of questions asking people to rate the job performance of the state’s top leaders. None of them were good. Only 39% of respondents approved of the job Greg Abbott is doing as governor, while 50% said they disapproved. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick received approval for the job at 29% in the poll. At the federal level, Senator John Cornyn had a job approval rating of 25% among people surveyed. Sen. Ted Cruz received a 35% job approval rating in the poll.
“For most of the year, Texas leaders’ numbers were either stagnant or declining slightly,” Hinson said, later describing the numbers as “a function of the overall political environment, but also a very difficult and extended legislative session.”
Popularity of US Senate candidates
The poll also included approval ratings for candidates running for US Senate in next year’s primaries. Attorney General Ken Paxton challenges Senator Cornyn in the Republican primary. The poll showed that 28% of voters viewed him favorably, while 44% said they had a negative view of Paxton. That’s slightly better than Cornyn’s result in the poll, where 24% gave him a favorable rating and 46% said they had an unfavorable view.
“It hasn’t changed much,” Henson said. “This race is still a lot of money spent and a lot more campaigning.”
Texas: Hunt shakes up the Republican race in the US Senate
Representative Wesley Hunt, who recently joined the Republican primary race, received a positive rating of 16% compared to a negative rating of 18%. Nearly half of voters surveyed, 45%, answered “don’t know/no opinion” when asked about Hunt.
In the race for the Democratic nomination, former Congressman Colin Allred and state Rep. James Talarico remain steady.
“There aren’t a lot of big surprises with people we know in the race,” Henson said.
Colin Allred, who ran for Senate last year against Ted Cruz, has name recognition. Only 17% of survey respondents said they had no opinion of Allred. It was evenly split between positive and negative reviews, with 32% in each category.
As for Talarico, nearly half, 47%, of those surveyed said they didn’t know or had no opinion of the Democratic nominee in Austin. 22% gave it a positive opinion, while 12% rated it negative.
Name recognition is also an issue for former astronaut Terry Virts, who is also running for the Democratic nomination. The poll showed that 67% of respondents had an opinion of I don’t know/don’t know about his candidacy.
However, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett has begun raising the possibility of running for the seat.
“Her approval rating among Democrats is 62%, which is higher than both Allred and Tallarico, which means we’ll continue to pay attention to all the trial balloons she keeps shooting,” Hinson said.
Among the total electorate, Crockett’s advantage was somewhat unfavorable, with opinion polls showing him 30% favorable and 32% unfavorable. Colin Allred did not outperform her by much, as his support rate reached 32% compared to 32% opposition.
“If you’re Jasmine Crockett, it’s very tempting to get into this race,” Henson said.
The Texas Politics Project polled 1,200 registered voters in the state from October 10-12. The poll’s margin of error was +/- 2.83%.
Comptroller suspends program to help underutilized businesses due to DEI concerns
The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts recently suspended new certifications and removed information from its website about the Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) program — which provides exposure to minority- and women-owned businesses in the government procurement process — to conduct a “legal review of the program’s administration and rules,” according to an agency spokesperson.
New HUB certificates were placed on hold on his X account, said Kelly Hancock, interim comptroller. “Businesses deserve a level playing field where government contracts are earned through performance and best value – not race or gender quotas,” Hancock wrote.
In a series of messages on his accountHancock said reviewing the issue was a top priority for him when he took the top job in July.
One of the architects of the decades-old program, state Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, confirmed with Nexstar that a lawsuit against the state led to the decision to remove information about HUB from the agency’s website.
“There are people who clearly don’t want to see a HUB program in the state of Texas,” West explained. A spokesperson for the comptroller’s office said the agency continues to assist Texans with “questions or needs related to state procurement.”
Who donates Ten Commandments posters to classrooms in Texas?
Despite ongoing legal challenges Senate Bill 10the donation of Ten Commandments posters to public school districts in Texas was overwhelming and quick. Records obtained by KXAN show that across 14 school districts in Central Texas alone, donors have given at least 6,400 stickers since SB 10 took effect.
The law does not require school districts to spend any money on posters, but it does require schools to put up posters once they are donated. Districts across the state received similar inquiries for the donation from lawmakers, national evangelical groups — and even teachers on their campuses, records show.
Round Rock ISD records show a teacher at a local high school donated 30 Ten Commandments posters. Bastrop Independent School District leaders said they have nearly 900 posters donated from “several anonymous individuals.” In Liberty Hill, district leaders said a local pastor donated more than 100 posters that now hang in two school buildings.
At least one school district, Frisco ISD, told KXAN it used $1,800 in district funds to buy more than 4,000 Ten Commandments posters for its classrooms. The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the district over its decision to hang the posters.
Sen. Adam Hinojosa, R-Corpus Christi, was one of the authors of SB 10, and since its passage, splurge About donating enough stickers for every classroom in his district along the Texas Bend coast.
Some of the largest donations in Texas have come from national evangelical organizations.
Georgetown ISD told KXAN Citizens defending freedoman organization that says part of its mission is to “advocate for faith in schools,” donated more than 1,500 Ten Commandments posters to the district. The ACLU is suing the district on behalf of parents who don’t want the posters to go up. A district spokesperson said the posters are not currently on display pending the outcome of the lawsuit.
Some school districts in Texas can’t put up the posters yet
Although, in some cases, districts received enough stickers for all their classrooms, what districts did next was more variable.
Christy Slaap, a parent and member of the conservative political organization Mothers for Freedom in Williamson County, joined several other parents to purchase 170 posters displaying the Ten Commandments. She donated posters to Round Rock ISD. But Slab received an email from the district’s general counsel saying the district was “awaiting further judicial guidance” before posting the donated posters.
Hill was referring to an ongoing lawsuit filed by parents and religious leaders against 11 school districts in Texas. The lawsuit alleges that a state mandate to publish the Ten Commandments would “force students to practice religious rituals.”
U.S. District Judge Fred Perry, of San Antonio, is presiding over the case and temporarily ordering school districts not to publish the Ten Commandments while the case is ongoing.
One day after Judge Perry issued the order, lawyers for the ACLU also sent a letter to every school district in the state, warning the districts that publishing the Ten Commandments could lead to them being sued as well.
“Federal law clearly states that these offers are unconstitutional,” said Sarah Corning, an attorney for the ACLU of Texas. “The law is crystal clear.”
But in the days following Judge Perry’s order and the ACLU’s warning, the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a warningalso. In a letter, Paxton informed school districts across the state that only the 11 districts involved in the lawsuit had been ordered not to post donated posters — and said any district that did not comply “will be subject to legal action” from his office.
The district attorney’s office did not respond to KXAN’s question about possible consequences if the district did not offer it. Paxton also said in his letter to districts that his office will defend school districts against any legal challenges arising from compliance with SB 10.
“The fact that they don’t know exactly what that outcome is is even more problematic,” Corning said. “We have to be incredibly clear with our school districts.”
Round Rock ISD has not yet displayed the posters handed out by Slape. In response to subsequent emails sent by Slape asking how and when the posters would be delivered to individual classrooms, the district said they are “securely stored on campus.”
“If the district offered donations immediately, not only would we be at risk for a lawsuit, we would be sued by a number of families and numerous organizations. This would be a colossal waste of the district’s resources when the matter will be fully addressed by the Fifth Circuit in an upcoming decision,” a Round Rock ISD spokesperson said in a statement to KXAN.