Research

Poll also identifies Cruz edge against lesser-known challengers.

(Dallas, Texas, May 25, 2023) — Former President Donald Trump holds a comfortable lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis among Texas registered voters who say they might participate in a March 2024 Republican primary, according to new polling from the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation (TxHPF). 

In a Texas Republican presidential primary restricted to Trump and DeSantis, 57% of Texas GOP primary voters would vote for Trump and 36% for DeSantis, with 5% undecided and 2% responding that they would not vote if Trump and DeSantis were their only two options. DeSantis announced his long-expected candidacy Wednesday and is the early favorite among several Republican candidates to emerge as Trump’s chief rival for the nomination.

“Donald Trump is the clear Republican frontrunner in Texas for now, but there is a long way to go,” said TxHPF President Jason Villalba. “Texas Republicans regard Trump favorably and he will be difficult to beat for the nomination here, but DeSantis certainly has a base of support upon which he can build. There is also time for other candidates to emerge and make this more than a two-person race for the nomination.”

Four 2024 presidential election scenarios were presented to Texas registered voters: Trump vs. President Joe Biden, DeSantis vs. Biden, Trump vs. Vice President Kamala Harris, DeSantis vs. Harris. Surveys of Texas registered voters tend to be more favorable for Democratic candidates and less favorable for Republican candidates than surveys of likely voters conducted in the months before an election.

• Trump’s vote intention (44%) surpasses that of Biden (42%) by 2 percentage points. 6% intend to vote for minor party candidates and 8% remain undecided.

• DeSantis’s vote intention (44%) surpasses that of Biden (42%) by 2 percentage points. 5% intend to vote for minor party candidates and 9% remain undecided.

• Trump’s vote intention (46%) surpasses that of Harris (39%) by 7 percentage points. 6% intend to vote for minor party candidates and 9% remain undecided.

• DeSantis’s vote intention (45%) surpasses that of Harris (40%) by 5 percentage points. 5% intend to vote for minor party candidates and 10% remain undecided.

The poll also measured the still-forming contest for the Texas seat in the U.S. Senate now held by Sen. Ted Cruz.

In a March 2024 Democratic Texas U.S. Senate primary featuring U.S. Congressman Colin Allred, State Sen. Roland Gutierrez and former Midland City Council Member John Love, 33% of Democratic primary voters would vote for Allred, 22% for Gutierrez and 4% for Love. 41% of these voters remain undecided.

Cruz leads Allred 47% to 40%, with 9% undecided and 4% voting for minor party candidates in a hypothetical November 2024 race for the Senate. However, Allred is still unknown to many voters; 49% of registered voters do not enough about Allred to have either a favorable or unfavorable opinion about him, while only 6% do not know enough about Cruz to have an opinion about the senator.

“Allred is the early leader among Democrats, but anyone who wins the Democratic nomination will have a difficult race against Cruz,” said Dr. Mark P. Jones, TxHPF Director of Research and Analytics. “It will be critical for the Democratic nominee to introduce themselves to Texans over the course of the next year and make their case for change.”

Texas registered voters were asked to provide favorable and unfavorable evaluations of 10 Texas political figures, with an additional option that they didn’t know enough about them to have an opinion: Cruz, Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, U.S. Sens. Cruz and John Cornyn, U.S. Reps. Allred, Joaquin Castro and Dan Crenshaw, Attorney General Ken Paxton, Gutierrez and 2022 Democratic gubernatorial nominee Beto O’Rourke.

The five Texas political figures with the highest favorable ratings among Texas registered voters are Abbott (53%), Cruz (49%), O’Rourke (46%), Patrick (45%) and Paxton (42%).

The five Texas political figures with the highest unfavorable ratings among Texas registered voters are O’Rourke (45%), Cruz (45%), Abbott (43%), Cornyn (43%) and Paxton (40%).

This is the second report of three drawing on a survey of 1,000 Texas registered voters carried out between May 8 and May 17 of 2023. It has a margin of error of +/- 2.9% for the analysis of all registered voters and a margin of error of +/-4.8% and +/-5.1% for the analysis of Republican and Democratic primary voters respectively. The responses are weighted to provide a population that is representative of Texas registered voters.

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About the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation The Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation operates as a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, dedicated and committed to analyzing and exploring the political, economic, social, demographic, and familial attitudes and behaviors of Texas Hispanics. The Foundation conducts surveys, polls, research, data collection and analysis concerning the Hispanic population in Texas. You can find more information about the Foundation at www.TxHPF.org.

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Several GOP priorities garner support in poll.

(Dallas, Texas, May 23, 2023) — According to new statewide polling from the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation (TxHPF), at least 85 percent of Texans support both Senate Bill 3, which would increase the residential homestead exemption from $40,000 to $70,000 (if under age 65) or to $100,000 (65 and older), and House Bill 2, which would decrease the yearly appraisal cap from 10% to 5% for residential property and extend this benefit to commercial property.

Conducted earlier this month, the poll found support for Republican leaders’ approach to several issues that have been front and center at this year’s session of the Texas Legislature.

When forced to choose between SB 3 and HB 2, 50% of Texans opt for SB 3 and 38% for HB 2, with 12% of Texans opposing both property tax relief proposals.

“Texans certainly support property-tax relief,” said TxHPF President Jason Villalba, a former State Representative from Dallas. “There is more support for expanding the homestead exemption than there is for lower appraisal caps, but both ideas are very popular. Given the significant burdens that high property taxes place on Texas families, it should come as no surprise that both the Senate and the House tax proposals receive strong bipartisan support. The data from this report makes that clear.”

The tax issue is one of several being hashed out between leaders of the Texas House and Senate as the May 29 end of the regular legislative session draws near.

Another issue in the spotlight during the Legislature’s final week is that of sending students to private schools with taxpayer dollars, which is also known as private-school vouchers or Education Savings Accounts (ESAs). 58% of Texans support (25% strongly) and 42% oppose (29% strongly) legislation similar to the bill that the Texas Senate approved to create widely available Education Savings Accounts. The poll found that 70% of Black Texans support SB 8 compared to 59% of Hispanic and 55% of white Texans. And, the poll found majority support for SB 8 was relatively equal across the state, with residents in rural and semi-rural counties just as likely to support SB 8 as residents of suburban and urban counties.

Texans voice support in the poll for several high-profile bills that social conservatives have championed throughout the session, including:

• 66% of Texans support (55% strongly) Senate Bill 14, which would prohibit medical professionals from providing puberty-inhibiting drugs, cross-sex hormones and surgical interventions to children under the age of 18. One-third (34%) of Texans oppose (26% strongly) SB 14.
• 70% of Texans support (54% strongly) Senate Bill 15, which would prohibit Texas public university athletic teams from allowing a student to compete on a team designated for one biological sex if that student’s biological sex is opposite that designated for the team. One third (30%) of Texans oppose (18% strongly) SB 15.
• 64% of Texans support (49% strongly) Senate Bill 12 that would classify drag shows as sexually oriented performances, which would prohibit individuals under the age of 18 from attending. One third (36%) of Texans oppose (27% strongly) SB 12.

“Texans tend to support the socially conservative bills that state and legislative leaders are pushing this year,” said Dr. Mark Jones, TxHPF Director of Research and Analytics. “While these bills generate a very contentious debate and some fierce opposition, they are supported by fairly wide margins when you look at all Texas voters.”

Texans voice stronger support in the poll for Gov. Greg Abbott’s handling of the situation at the Texas-Mexico border than President Joe Biden’s handling of that situation. In fact, the poll found strong support for a number of specific border policies that Abbott and other Republican leaders have championed:

• 74% of Texans support (52% strongly) sending the Texas National Guard to patrol the border.
• 74% of Texans support (48% strongly) the creation of a Texas Border Protection Unit.
• 71% of Texans support (46% strongly) sending DPS officers to patrol the border.
• 62% of Texans support (46% strongly) Texas building a border wall.
• 60% of Texans support (37% strongly) Texas spending $2.5-$3.0 billion a year on border security.

“Hispanic Texans are less likely to support all five border security policies than are white and Black Texans, but more than three-fifths of Hispanics still support sending the Texas National Guard and DPS to patrol the border and creating a Texas border patrol unit,” Dr. Jones said. “Border security and immigration continue to be priority issues for many Texas voters, and Texans tend to support the Governor’s approach.”

This is the first report of three drawing on a survey of 1,000 Texas registered voters carried out between May 8 and May 17 of 2023 (confidence interval of +/- 2.9%). The responses are weighted to provide a population that is representative of Texas registered voters.

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About the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation The Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation operates as a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, dedicated and committed to analyzing and exploring the political, economic, social, demographic, and familial attitudes and behaviors of Texas Hispanics. The Foundation conducts surveys, polls, research, data collection and analysis concerning the Hispanic population in Texas. You can find more information about the Foundation at www.TxHPF.org.

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(DALLAS, TEXAS) — Hispanic voters in Texas prefer Democrat Beto O’Rourke in the Texas governor’s race, but those who identify themselves as Evangelical Protestants are much more likely to side with Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and side with Abbott on issues, according to new polling from the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation (TXHPF) and four TEGNA television stations in Texas.

The latest report from the groups’ September polling shows that while O’Rourke leads Abbott 51% to 39% among all Hispanic likely voters, Evangelical Protestant Hispanics overwhelmingly favor Abbott, 69% to 19%. O’Rourke is the choice among Catholic (56% to 33%) and non-religious (64% to 27%) Hispanic likely voters. In addition, Evangelical Protestant Hispanics are significantly more likely to support six immigration and border security policies that Abbott has implemented. In addition, Catholic Hispanics are much more likely than Evangelical Protestant Hispanics to support modifying current Texas abortion law to make it easier for a woman to obtain an abortion.

“The different political preferences among Hispanic Texans illustrate the diversity of this critical population of voters,” said Jason Villalba, CEO of the TXHPF. “There is not a monolithic Hispanic voting bloc in Texas. Just like we see with other groups of voters, Hispanics’ religious preferences can go a long way in predicting how they will vote in elections.”

A full report of the latest findings from the poll is available here. Among the information contained in the poll:

• Among Hispanic women, O’Rourke leads 54% to 33%. Among Hispanic men, O’Rourke leads 48% to 45%.
• O’Rourke holds a two-to-one advantage among younger Hispanics belonging to Generation Z and the Millennial generational cohort, who, combined, are expected to account for at least two-fifths of Texas Hispanic voters this fall. The two candidates are effectively tied among Hispanics belonging to the Baby Boomer/Silent Generation cohort and to Generation X.
• Hispanics living in a household where Spanish is the dominant language favor O’Rourke 67% to 26%. Among Hispanics where English is the dominant language, O’Rourke’s lead is 49% to 43%.
• 59% of Catholic Hispanics would modify current Texas abortion law to make it easier for a woman to obtain an abortion, while just 23% of Evangelical Protestant Hispanics would support changing state law to make it easier for a woman to obtain an abortion.

“Just as is the case within the Anglo population, Hispanics who are Evangelical Protestant overwhelmingly favor Abbott over O’Rourke,” said Mark P. Jones, TXHPF Chief Analytics and Information Officer.  “The policy and partisan preferences of Hispanic Evangelical Protestants are notably more similar to those of their Anglo brethren than they are to those of non-religious, and in some instances Catholic, Hispanics.”

This is the third report drawing on data from a survey of 1,172 likely Texas voters that took place between September 6 and September 15 of 2022 (confidence interval of +/- 2.9%). The responses are weighted to provide a population that is representative of Texas Hispanic registered voters. As part of the larger study, a population of 468 (margin of error +/- 4.5%) Texas Hispanic likely voters was surveyed.

Four TEGNA stations in Texas — WFAA, KHOU, KVUE and KENS — co-sponsored the poll with the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation.

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About the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation
The Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation operates as a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, dedicated and committed to analyzing and exploring the political, economic, social, demographic, and familial attitudes and behaviors of Texas Hispanics. The Foundation conducts surveys, polls, research, data collection and analysis concerning the Hispanic population in Texas. You can find more information about the Foundation at www.TxHPF.org.

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(DALLAS, TEXAS) — Public support for Gov. Greg Abbott’s approach to border security and immigration has helped propel him to a lead in his race for re-election, according to newly released polling data from the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation (TXHPF) and TEGNA television stations in Texas.

An absolute majority of Texas likely voters support six border policies that Abbott has implemented, while between one-fifth and one-third of likely voters oppose these policies. Support for Abbott’s approach on the high-profile issue helps explain the polling lead he has consistently maintained: Polling that the TXHPF released earlier this week showed that Abbott leads O’Rourke 51% to 44% among likely voters and 53% to 43% among the most likely (almost certain) voters.

Specifically:

• 66% of likely voters support Texas state and local law enforcement arresting people who cross the border with Mexico illegally, while 22% oppose.
• 60% of Texas likely voters support Texas deploying the Texas National Guard to patrol the U.S.-Mexico border, while 28% oppose.
• 60% of Texas likely voters support Texas sending the Texas DPS to patrol the U.S.- Mexico border, while 27% oppose.
• 57% of Texas likely voters support Texas building a border wall, while 34% oppose.
• 54% of Texas likely voters support Texas paying to send asylum seekers by bus to Chicago, New York City and Washington, D.C., while 31% oppose.
• 54% of Texas likely voters support Texas spending $1.5 billion every year on border security, while 32% oppose.

All six policies draw support from a majority of white voters. Three policies garner support from a majority of Hispanic voters and one policy gets support from a majority of Black voters.

Only one in three (34%) likely voters approve of Biden’s handling of the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border, significantly less than the 56% who approve of Abbott’s handling of the situation at the border.

“Support for Governor Abbott’s approach to border security is a major factor in the lead that he holds over Beto O’Rourke as we enter the final weeks of the campaign,” said Jason Villalba, CEO of the TXHPF. “At a time when many issues divide clearly along partisan lines, the issue of border security has helped Abbott attract independents and some Democrats, as well as overwhelming support from Republicans. As long as border security remains a major issue in the race, the Governor’s lead will be difficult to overcome.”

The poll found that voters want some moderation on abortion; specifically, the Texas likely voter’s preference is that abortion be illegal in Texas, except if the woman’s life or well-being is at risk or in the case of rape or incest. Specifically:

• 52% of likely Texas voters believe current Texas law (abortion only if the woman’s life or well-being is at risk), 11% believe the law should be modified to make it harder to obtain an abortion, and 37% believe Texas abortion legislation should be left as it is now.
• 29% of Texas likely voters would prefer legislation in Texas similar to that in force under Roe v. Wade prior to the June 2022 Dobbs decision, with 22% and 7% favoring abortion through 24 or 20 weeks respectively.
• 71% of Texas likely voters believe the law of the land under Roe v. Wade prior to the June 2022 Dobbs decision was too permissive in terms of the length and conditions under which abortion was permitted.
• Among Texas likely voters, 57% of women and 47% of men would make it easier to obtain an abortion in Texas while 43% of women and 53% of men would make it harder to obtain an abortion or leave Texas law as it is now.
• Among Texas likely voters, 79% of Black women, 58% of Hispanic women and 51% of white women would make it easier to obtain an abortion in Texas while 21% of Black women, 42% of Hispanic women and 49% of white women would make it harder to obtain an abortion or leave Texas law as it is now.

“While a narrow majority of Texas voters believe the state’s current abortion legislation is too restrictive, more than two-thirds consider the policy that had been in force under Roe v. Wade to be too permissive,” said Mark P. Jones, TXHPF Director of Research and Analytics. “The median likely voter prefers an intermediate option where abortion is illegal unless the woman’s life is at risk or the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.”

Overall, the poll found that Texans are more confident about the direction of the state than the direction of the country, with 47% of Texas likely voters believing that Texas is headed in the right direction, while 53% believe that the state is headed in the wrong direction. The poll also found that 27% of likely voters believe the United States is heading in the right direction, with 73% believing that the country is headed in the wrong direction.

Four TEGNA stations in Texas — WFAA, KHOU, KVUE and KENS — co-sponsored the poll with the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation.

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About the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation
The Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation operates as a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, dedicated and committed to analyzing and exploring the political, economic, social, demographic, and familial attitudes and behaviors of Texas Hispanics. The Foundation conducts surveys, polls, research, data collection and analysis concerning the Hispanic population in Texas. You can find more information about the Foundation at www.TxHPF.org.

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Few voters are undecided, poll finds.

(DALLAS, TEXAS) — Governor Greg Abbott’s lead over Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke appears increasingly durable, with few voters indicating they are undecided or willing to change their mind at this stage in the race, according to a new poll from the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation (TXHPF) and TEGNA television stations in Texas.

Republican Abbott leads 51% to 44% among likely voters and 53% to 43% among the most likely (almost certain) voters. Only 3% of likely voters and 2% of most likely voters are undecided, with minor-party candidates garnering only marginal support. Virtually all likely voters who intend to vote for Abbott (95%) and O’Rourke (94%) say they are certain about their vote choice.

“Gov. Abbott’s strength among rural and Anglo voters continues to bolster his intransigent structural support in the 2022 race for Texas Governor,” said Jason Villalba, CEO of the TXHPF.  “While O’Rourke has shown himself to be a worthy and hard-working adversary, unless there is a marked shift in the composition of the November electorate, Governor Abbott will remain the political and thought leader of Texas politics.  Only new voters will be able to shift the tide.”

Hispanic likely voters intend to vote for O’Rourke by a margin of 53% to 39%, the poll found, while Abbott has a sizable lead among white voters and O’Rourke is the dominant choice among Black voters.

Republicans are leading in six other statewide races as well:

• Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick leads Democratic challenger Mike Collier 48% to 42% among likely voters and by 50% to 42% among the most likely voters.
• Attorney General Ken Paxton leads Democratic challenger Rochelle Garza 47% to 42% among likely voters and 49% to 42% among the most likely voters.
• Comptroller Glenn Hegar leads Democratic challenger Janet Dudding 46% to 38% among likely voters and 49% to 39% among the most likely voters.
• Land Commissioner candidate Dawn Buckingham leads Democratic challenger Jay Kleberg 46% to 38% among likely voters and 50% to 38% among the most likely voters.
• Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller leads Democratic challenger Susan Hays 48% to 41% among likely voters and 51% to 40% among the most likely voters.
• Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian leads Democratic challenger Luke Warford 44% to 37% among likely voters and 47% to 37% among the most likely voters.

“All seven of the statewide Republican executive candidates from Abbott for governor to Wayne Christian for railroad commissioner are on course for victory, barring an unprecedented level of turnout by Millennials and especially Generation Z,” said Mark P. Jones, TXHPF Director of Research and Analytics.

Abbott is viewed favorably by 52% and unfavorably by 46% of Texas likely voters while O’Rourke is viewed favorably by 47% and unfavorably by 49% of Texas likely voters.

Donald Trump is viewed favorably by 49% and unfavorably by 50% of Texas likely voters while Joe Biden is viewed favorably by 42% and unfavorably by 57% of Texas likely voters.

Among likely Republican voters, Abbott is viewed favorably by 91%, Ted Cruz by 86% and Trump by 85%.

Among likely Democratic voters, O’Rourke is viewed favorably by 94%, Biden by 87% and Kamala Harris by 82%.

This is the first report of three drawing on data from a survey of 1,172 likely Texas voters that took place between September 6 and September 15 of 2022 (confidence interval of +/- 2.9%). The responses are weighted to provide a population that is representative of Texas registered voters.

Four TEGNA stations in Texas — WFAA, KHOU, KVUE and KENS — co-sponsored the poll with the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation.

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About the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation
The Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation operates as a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, dedicated and committed to analyzing and exploring the political, economic, social, demographic, and familial attitudes and behaviors of Texas Hispanics. The Foundation conducts surveys, polls, research, data collection and analysis concerning the Hispanic population in Texas. You can find more information about the Foundation at www.TxHPF.org.

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Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation Poll shows voters have slightly favorable view of Abbott.

(DALLAS, Texas, April 13, 2022) — Texans have an unfavorable view of President Joe Biden and a slightly favorable view of Gov. Greg Abbott, according to newly released polling from the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation.

Abbott is viewed more favorably than his Democratic challenger, former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke. The lagging approval numbers for Biden and O’Rourke point to the difficult political landscape facing Texas Democrats approaching the fall elections. Among registered voters:

• Biden is viewed favorably by 40% of Texans and unfavorably by 57%.

• Former President Donald Trump is viewed favorably by 48% of Texans and unfavorably by 51%.

• Abbott is viewed favorably by 48% and unfavorably by 45%.

• O’Rourke is viewed favorably by 42% and unfavorably by 49%.

“The political landscape is challenging for Democrats in Texas,” said Dr. Mark Jones, Director of Research and Analytics for the TxHPF. “Both Biden and Beto currently find themselves underwater with Texas voters.”

Of 22 state and national political figures whose favorability was measured in the poll, former President Barack Obama, a Democrat, scored the highest favorable rating — 52% — while 46% of Texans view him unfavorably. Former President George W. Bush has a favorable rating of 47% and an unfavorable rating of 45%.

The TxHPF representative survey of 1,435 Texas registered voters took place between March 18 and March 28 (confidence interval of +/- 2.6%). The survey included an oversample of 435 Hispanic registered voters to allow for a more fine-grained analysis of this important demographic.

Among Hispanic registered voters in the poll:

• Biden is viewed favorably by 50% and unfavorably by 44%.

• Trump is viewed favorably by 38% and unfavorably by 59%.

• Abbott is viewed favorably by 37% and unfavorably by 54%.

• O’Rourke is viewed favorably by 53% and unfavorably by 34%.

• Obama is viewed favorably by 66% and unfavorably by 29%.

• Bush is viewed favorably by 50% and unfavorably by 40%.

“Texas Hispanics view Democrats more favorably than Republicans at this moment in time,” said TxHPF CEO and President Jason Villalba. “However, it is notably that Hispanics have a favorable view of former President Bush — a Texas Republican. It will be interesting to see how these numbers change during the 2022 campaign. Both parties would be wise to aggressively seek Hispanic support in this election and in future elections.”

The polling highlights the pivotal role played by Hispanics in the Democratic Party runoffs for comptroller and land commissioner.

In the land commissioner runoff, Sandragrace Martinez holds a 41% to 25% lead over Jay Kleberg in vote intention, due in large part to her four-to-one (56% to 14%) advantage among Hispanic likely voters.

In the comptroller runoff, Ángel Luis Vega is effectively tied with Janet T. Dudding (29% to 32%), due in large part to his 50% to 18% advantage among Hispanic likely voters.

In the Republican Party railroad commissioner runoff, Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian enjoys a substantial lead over Sarah Stogner among likely GOP primary voters, 44% to 18%, with 38% undecided.

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About the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation
The Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation operates as a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, dedicated and committed to analyzing and exploring the political, economic, social, demographic, and familial attitudes and behaviors of Texas Hispanics. The Foundation conducts surveys, polls, research, data collection and analysis concerning the Hispanic population in Texas. You can find more information about the Foundation at www.TxHPF.org.

Download the Report

Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation report suggests Abbott unlikely to win statewide Hispanic vote.

(DALLAS, Texas, April 12, 2022) — Despite recent signs that Republicans are gaining ground among Hispanic Texas voters, a new polling report from the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation shows overall support among Hispanic Texans for Democratic gubernatorial nominee Beto O’Rourke and Democratic President Joe Biden.

The report utilizes a large sub-sample (615 cases) of Texas Hispanics within a statewide survey of Texas registered voters (1,435 cases) to better understand intragroup differences within the Texas Hispanic community regarding vote intention in the November 2022 elections, as well as opinions regarding Biden and former President Donald Trump. The TxHPF survey was conducted between March 18 and March 28.

The poll found that:

• O’Rourke leads Republican Gov. Greg Abbott by an 18% margin (54% to 36%) among Hispanic likely voters and by a 14% margin (53% to 39%) among the Hispanics who are most likely to vote (almost certain voters).

• In a hypothetical matchup for attorney general, Democrat Rochelle Garza leads Republican incumbent Ken Paxton by a 25% margin (57% to 32%) among Hispanic likely voters and by a 22% margin (57% to 35%) among the Hispanics who are most likely to vote (almost certain votes). However, neither candidate has yet secured a spot in the November election; both Paxton and Garza will face runoff elections for their party nominations in May, runoffs in which both are presently favored.

• In a hypothetical matchup for lieutenant governor (included in TxHPF’s first report from the March poll), Democratic challenger Mike Collier leads Republican incumbent Dan Patrick 56% to 33% among Hispanic likely voters. Patrick has secured the GOP runoff, but Collier faces State Rep. Michelle Beckley in a May runoff for the Democratic nomination.

• Among Hispanic registered voters, 50% view Biden favorably and 44% view him unfavorably.

• Also among Hispanic registered voters, 38% view Trump favorably and 59% view him unfavorably.

“The survey results suggest the likelihood of Abbott winning a majority of the Hispanic vote in the fall is extremely low, but it’s possible that Abbott could win a majority of the Hispanic male vote in November,” said Dr. Mark Jones, the TxHPF Director of Research and Analytics. “Hispanic Texans view President Biden favorably, but only by a small margin.”

The poll also found that among likely voters:

• While O’Rourke enjoys an 28% advantage over Abbott (59% to 31%) among Hispanic women, his 7% advantage among Hispanic men (49% to 42%) is one quarter that size.

• Hispanics who live in households where Spanish is used more than English are significantly less likely to intend to vote for Abbott (17%) than are Hispanics who live in households where English is the dominant language (39%). 

• Hispanic Evangelical Protestants are significantly more likely to intend to vote for Abbott (65%) and significantly less likely to intend to vote for O’Rourke (27%) than both Catholic (31% and 62%) and non-religious (25% and 58%) Hispanics.

“The Hispanic vote in many ways mirror the country as a whole, with Democrats doing better among women than men and Republicans doing better among evangelicals than non-evangelicals,” said Jason Villalba, CEO of the TxHPF. “Democratic candidates are polling better than Republicans among Hispanic likely voters right now, but their lead among Hispanics is likely not large enough to overcome their struggles to attract white voters across the state.”

The TxHPF released the first report from its March polling last week. That report showed Abbott leading O’Rourke by an 8% margin (50% to 42%) among all likely voters in the state and by a 12% margin (53% to 41%) among all of the most likely (almost certain) voters.

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About the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation
The Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation operates as a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, dedicated and committed to analyzing and exploring the political, economic, social, demographic, and familial attitudes and behaviors of Texas Hispanics. The Foundation conducts surveys, polls, research, data collection and analysis concerning the Hispanic population in Texas. You can find more information about the Foundation at www.TxHPF.org.

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Paxton, Collier, Garza hold leads in runoff matchups.

(DALLAS, Texas, April 5, 2022) — Republican statewide incumbents hold an advantage in the early stages of the 2022 elections in Texas, but the Democrats lining up to challenge them are within striking distance, according to new polling from the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation (TxHPF).

The TxHPF representative survey of 1,435 Texas registered voters took place between March 18 and March 28 (confidence interval of +/- 2.6%). The survey included an oversample of 435 Hispanic registered voters to allow for a more fine-grained analysis of this important demographic.

Among voters who say they are likely to vote in November:

• Gov. Greg Abbott leads Democratic gubernatorial nominee Beto O’Rourke by an 8% margin (50% to 42%) among likely voters and by a 12% margin (53% to 41%) among the most likely (almost certain) voters.

• Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick leads both of his potential Democratic challengers. Among likely voters, Patrick leads Mike Collier by a 6% margin (49% to 43%) and Michelle Beckley by an 8% margin (50% to 42%). Like Abbott, Patrick holds larger leads over his Democratic challengers (10% over Collier and 13% over Beckley) among the most likely voters. If current numbers hold, his Democratic challenger in November will be Collier; Collier leads Beckley in the May Democratic runoff by a 12% margin (43% to 31%) among likely voters and by a 16% margin (47% to 31%) among the most likely voters.

• In the Republican runoff for attorney general, incumbent Ken Paxton has a commanding lead over Land Commissioner George P. Bush. Paxton is ahead by a 42% margin (65% to 23%) among likely voters and by a 51% margin (71% to 20%) among the most likely voters. In the Democratic runoff contest for attorney general, Rochelle Mercedes Garza leads Joe Jaworski by a 15% margin (46% to 31%) among likely voters and by a 21% margin (51% to 30%) among the most likely voters. 

• In hypothetical November matchups, Paxton leads Garza and Jaworski by 6% and 7% respectively among likely voters and by 10% and 12% among almost certain voters, while Bush is in a statistical dead heat with both Democrats, tied with Garza among likely voters and ahead of her by 1% among almost certain voters and trailing Jaworski by 1% among likely voters and tied with him among almost certain voters.

“Republicans are certainly the favorites to win in November, but they have not yet put these contests away,” said Dr. Mark Jones, the TxHPF Director of Research and Analytics. “Texans continue to lean toward Republican candidates, as they have for many years, but Democrats still have time to make these elections competitive.”

The poll also found that:

• Two-fifths (40%) of Republican primary voters say that they would never vote for George P. Bush.  Two-thirds (66%) of these Republicans say a reason they would never vote for him is that he is a member of the Bush family.  The next most common reasons are his oversight of the Alamo (42%) and that he is not conservative enough (41%).

• Nine out of 10 (88%) March GOP attorney general primary voters who cast a ballot for fourth-place finisher Louie Gohmert intend to vote for Paxton in the May runoff and 9% for Bush. Supporters of third-place finisher Eva Guzman are more divided, 35% intending to vote for Bush, 28% for Paxton and 37% still undecided.

• In a November generic U.S. House ballot, the Republican candidate leads the Democratic candidate by a 7% margin (49% to 42%) among likely voters and by a 12% margin (52% to 40%) among the almost certain voters.

• Hispanic likely voters prefer O’Rourke over Abbott by a 14% margin (53% to 39%). Abbott leads among White likely voters and O’Rourke leads among Black likely voters.

“Hispanics continue to be a vital component of the Texas electorate.  Based on these early numbers, it is clear that the Latino vote in Texas will be determinative this November,” said Jason Villalba, CEO of the TxHPF. “If Democrats intend to win the Governor’s race or other statewide elections this November, they are going to have to significantly increase their advantage among Hispanic voters. If Republicans are successful in continuing to narrow the gap among Hispanic voters, they will be nearly impossible to beat in November.”

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About the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation
The Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation operates as a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, dedicated and committed to analyzing and exploring the political, economic, social, demographic, and familial attitudes and behaviors of Texas Hispanics. The Foundation conducts surveys, polls, research, data collection and analysis concerning the Hispanic population in Texas. You can find more information about the Foundation at www.TxHPF.org.

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DISD parents trust the private sector over the government to provide a high-speed internet network and they overwhelmingly believe that a government-built network would result in higher property taxes.

(DALLAS, Texas, Jan. 13, 2022) — Hispanic families in the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) have nearly universal access to high-speed internet service, but have not adopted such service in the same percentages as non-Hispanic families have due to language barriers and a lack of awareness of programs offering the service at little or no cost, according to a new Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation (TxHPF) survey of parents with school-age children who live within the boundaries of DISD.

Nine out of ten parents responding to the survey (87%) have high-speed internet in their home, but white parents (96%) are more likely to have high-speed internet than black (87%) and Hispanic (81%) parents. Among parents with a child participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), 83% have high-speed internet at home, compared to 93% of those who do not participate in the NSLP.

Families who do not have high-speed internet service at home were most likely to cite the monthly cost as the primary reason why.

“High-speed internet is widely and readily available to Dallas ISD families, but there continues to be gaps in adoption of high-speed internet that have materialized along racial and economic lines,” said TxHPF CEO Jason Villalba. “In a post-pandemic economy, we know that virtual learning modules are absolutely indispensable to educating our children. Connectivity, via high-speed internet, is an essential utility and unquestionably necessary to achieving this goal. If Hispanic families remain technologically disadvantaged, Hispanic children, who represent over 50% of the future workforce, will be left behind. This is simply unacceptable.”

The survey found that most parents who live within DISD boundaries do not know about low-cost high-speed internet plans provided by AT&T and Spectrum, or about the FCC Emergency Broadband Benefit Program. Hispanics who prefer to interact in English are much more likely to know about those programs than those who prefer to interact in Spanish, who comprise a majority of the Hispanic families attending DISD. The findings underscore the need for more robust outreach campaigns — especially in Spanish — to make parents more aware of these benefits.

It also found that parents living in DISD are more likely to trust a private company (36%) to provide them with reliable high-speed internet than a local government entity, including the DISD (11%), with 36% trusting both equally and 17% trusting neither.

More than three-quarters of parents with children in DISD (78%) believe that a high-speed internet network built and maintained by Dallas County or the Dallas ISD would cause property taxes to go up, compared to only 6% who believe it would cause property taxes to go down and 16% who believe taxes would remain unchanged.

“DISD parents do not want the school district or the county to build, implement or maintain its own high-speed internet system,” Villalba said. “Our parent-centered research shows that most parents believe that if the government does attempt to build its own system, the result will be higher property taxes.”

The fielding period of this study was from October 20, 2021 through November 30. A total of 460 surveys were administered by ReconMR of San Marcos, Texas, of which sixty-six surveys were conducted over the telephone using Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) software, while 394 surveys were conducted online via utilizing Computer Assisted Web Interviewing (CAWI). The CAWI respondents were either sent a text message invitation that included a unique link to the online survey for that individual, or upon being reached by telephone, requested a link be emailed or texted to them.

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About the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation
The Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation operates as a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, dedicated and committed to analyzing and exploring the political, economic, social, demographic, and familial attitudes and behaviors of Texas Hispanics. The Foundation conducts surveys, polls, research, data collection and analysis concerning the Hispanic population in Texas. You can find more information about the Foundation at www.TxHPF.org.

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(DALLAS, Texas, Dec. 7, 2021) — As Republican activists and elected officials increasingly call for a special legislative session to prohibit vaccine mandates, recent polling shows that Republicans who vote in primaries are far more skeptical of such mandates and other measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 than Texas voters as a whole are.

Overall, Texas registered voters are split relatively evenly over the questions of whether vaccine mandates, mask mandates or vaccine passports would help society get back to normal, according to October polling conducted by the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation (TxHPF). However, Republicans who are almost certain to vote in their party’s primaries voiced strong disagreement with the idea that these measures would help society get back to normal sooner. Specifically:

• A plurality of Texans (49%) agree that vaccine mandates will help society get back to normal sooner, while 42% disagree and 9% neither agree nor disagree. However, 75% of voters who are almost certain to vote in Republican primaries disagree that vaccine mandates will help society get back to normal sooner.
• A narrow absolute majority of Texans (51%) agree that mask mandates will help society get back to normal sooner, while 38% disagree and the remaining 11% neither agree nor disagree. Among voters who are almost certain to vote in Republican primaries, 75% disagree that mask mandates will help society get back to normal sooner.
• A plurality of Texans (45%) disagree that vaccine passports will help society get back to normal sooner. Just over two-fifths (42%) agree and 13% neither agree nor disagree. However, 81% of almost-certain Republican primary voters disagree.

Voters who are inclined to support Republicans in November general elections but less likely to vote in primaries are less opposed to vaccine mandates, vaccine passports and mask mandates than those who are more likely to vote in primaries.

“There is a clear divide between Republican primary voters and the rest of the state, but Republican primary voters are the most influential group in Texas politics by far,” said Jason Villalba, Chairman and CEO of the TxHPF. “If Governor Abbott calls a special session on vaccine mandates and some of these other issues, it will show the overwhelming influence of the relatively few Texans who vote in Republican primaries.

Many elected Republicans are calling for a special session because they know how strongly their primary voters feel about these issues.”

Voters who indicate they are almost certain to vote in Democratic primaries are highly likely to believe that vaccine mandates, vaccine passports and mask mandates will help society get back to normal.

“Sharp partisan differences exist in regard to agreement and disagreement with these policies meant to limit the spread of COVID-19,” said TxHPF Director of Research and Analytics Mark P. Jones of Rice University. “There is even disagreement within parties. Voters who are most active in their party primaries show the strongest feelings about whether certain COVID policies will work.”

The October polling from the TxHPF also found that 25% of registered voters identifying as Republicans and 24% identifying as independents said they did not plan to get vaccinated, compared to just 6% of Democrats. Overall, 18% of respondents said they do not plan to get vaccinated.

For the survey, 1,402 respondents were interviewed online between October 14 and 27, with a margin of error of +/- 2.6%. (The survey contained an oversample of Hispanic registered voters, with a total of 616 Texas Hispanics surveyed).

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About the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation
The Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation operates as a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, dedicated and committed to analyzing and exploring the political, economic, social, demographic, and familial attitudes and behaviors of Texas Hispanics. The Foundation conducts surveys, polls, research, data collection and analysis concerning the Hispanic population in Texas. You can find more information about the Foundation at www.TxHPF.org.

Download the Report