(The Center Square) – Ahead of the legislative session beginning on Tuesday, a recent poll indicates that Texas voters want state lawmakers to prioritize border security and the economy.
In a statewide poll conducted by the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas (TxPP), voters were asked, “What do you think should be the legislature’s top priority?” The plruality, 22%, said immigration/border security, followed by 16% who said the economy/high prices.
The responses fell along party lines, with 37% of Republicans polled listing immigration and border security as the top concern, followed by 14% who said the economy and prices. All other issues received less than 10% interest, with only 6% mentioning public education and only 2% mentioning vouchers or school choice.
A plurality of Democrats polled, 18%, said the economy and prices were a top concern, followed by 11% who said public education.
When asked if the state legislature spends “too little, too much, or about the right amount” on a range of issues, the majority said “too little.” Overall, respondents said the state wasn’t spending enough on mental health services (58%), healthcare (55%), electric infrastructure (50%), and K-12 public education and the foster care system (49%).
The top concern among Republicans (63%) was the state not spending enough on border security; among Democrats (73%), healthcare.
As inflationary costs skyrocketed under the Biden administration, the majority polled said their economic situation was worse than it was a year ago but the state’s economy was better than the national economy overall.
Gov. Greg Abbott maintains a high approval rating of 55%, consistent with previous TxPP polls. Since 2015, his approval rating has hovered at or above 50%.
Every other state elected leader has never had as high approval rating as Abbott’s. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s was 41%; former House Speaker Dade Phelan’s was 27%.
Notably, TxPP reports that Texas Democrats lost ground with Hispanics. The finding isn’t surprising after the majority of Texas Hispanics, 55%, voted for President-elect Donald Trump in November and border counties flipped from blue to red, some voting Republican for the first time in state history, The Center Square reported.
Hispanic support for Trump was “a 13-point increase from 2020, a record high for a Republican presidential candidate and a 27-point increase over 2016,” TxPP said. “The magnitude of the swing toward Trump in 2024, especially in Texas, was still striking as it became apparent in the days after the election.”
TxPP also notes that “Party identification data reveals a decline in Democratic identification among Latinos amid signs of a gradual, incremental increase in Republican identification since 2016, with a clear increase in the GOP’s baseline support in the year preceding the election.”
Hispanics, as well as Texas voters overall, cited Biden economic and border security policies as top reasons why they voted for Trump, TxPP found. The losses were so great that the chair of the Texas Democratic Party resigned last year and Democrats continued to flip Republican, including a judge at the border in Webb County.
The recent poll findings are consistent with a November TxPP poll that found Hispanic Texans want illegal border crossers deported and voters said Texas is not spending enough on border security, The Center Square reported.
Since Abbott implemented the state’s border security mission, Operation Lone Star, the Texas legislature allocated roughly $12 billion to border security efforts over a four-year period, the most in state history, and more than multiple state fiscal year budgets, The Center Square reported.
State Rep. Greg Bonnen, R-Friendswood, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, said last year that the amount Texas taxpayers funded for OLS is greater than federal taxpayer money allocated for Texas border security operations under the Trump administration.
Multiple border security bills have been filed already and Abbott and Patrick have said property tax reform will be a key priority. The legislature is also tasked with determining how much of the state’s nearly $24 billion surplus to spend or return to the taxpayer.
This article was originally published at www.thecentersquare.com
